This Device Reads Brain Waves to Help Stroke Victims Regain Motor Function
It might look like an average rehabilitation machine anyone might use after an accident, but it’s not. This is a new device undergoing clinical trials and it’s returning motor function to those who have been unable to use parts of their bodies due to strokes.
Transcript
00:00 This might look like your average rehabilitation machine anyone might use after an accident,
00:08 but it's not.
00:09 This is a new device undergoing clinical trials and it's returning motor function to this
00:13 man, Oswald Riedis, who has been unable to use the left side of his body or speak since
00:18 having a stroke in 2014.
00:20 The machine is a two-part system, one that reads the brain waves of an individual and
00:24 detects when they want to move a body part and then it moves its robotic arm slightly,
00:29 towards a user then making the rest of the movement on their own.
00:32 And Riedis is hopeful he'll regain the finer motor function of his arm now that the University
00:36 of Houston-developed device has been installed in his home.
00:39 The machine is meant to rewire the brain after a stroke, allowing users to slowly build new
00:43 pathways to use their limbs once again.
00:45 It's a process called neuroplasticity and Dr. Gerald Francisco, the lead physician working
00:50 on this project, says it's all about exercise and repetition.
00:54 Robots will provide a repetitive, predictable movement.
00:59 Robots will not get tired so that it can provide the necessary amount of repetitions because
01:05 we know that certain amount of repetition is required in order for us to rewire that
01:10 part of the brain that is responsible for movement.
01:14 And it's giving stroke victims like Riedis a future worth fighting for.
01:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:22 (upbeat music)