Background

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability worldwide Please use this format if bullet points required throughout document
16 million stroke survivors suffer long-term hand disability even after undergoing standard therapy
The annual medical cost of stroke in the USA, Europe, and Australia is almost $100 billion

Technology Overview

RehabSwift is a stroke rehabilitation product built as a brain-computer interface. It detects the intention to move and then moves the target muscles via robotic hands.

RehabSwift leverages the neuroplasticity of the brain and rewires damaged neural pathways between the brain and muscles.

Following two clinical studies on the feasibility of the novel design, in a single case study with a patient 3.5 years post-stroke, RehabSwift made an unprecedented 36% improvement in the patient’s fingers dexterity after ten therapy sessions in 2 weeks.

Development Status

The prototype alpha was made and three clinical studies were run by it.
The design of the bionic hand has been optimised.
The ethics approval for running clinical trials has been obtained

Benefits

The emerging technologies for hand movement rehabilitation after stroke fall into one of the following categories:

Training (only) the hand muscles: these technologies move the paralysed hands with no brain activation, i.e. repetitive movement training;
Activating (only) the brain with no visual or movement feedback (i.e. mental practice);
Neurofeedback without movement where motor imagery of the hand movement controls the movement of an object on a screen;
Neurofeedback with hand movement: these products link motor imagery of the hand movement to robotic manipulators or electrical stimulation of the hand muscles;

RehabSwift is the only neurofeedback technology that ensures (i) the feedback modality (seeing and feeling) is optimal; and, (ii) the timing (the delay between the brain command and the muscle movement) is customised according to each individual’s attributes.

Applications

RehabSwift is to provide stroke survivors,, who suffer long term hand disability, with a unique opportunity to rapidly gain tangible hand recovery, which otherwise would not be possible.

Opportunity

RehabSwift has applied for an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant and is seeking investors to provide matched funding.

REHABSWIFT

Patents

IP Status