Robotic technology improves stroke rehab

A new technology may buy stroke patients extra time to recover. Using a new, hand-operated robotic device and functional MRI (fMRI), scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have found chronic stroke patients can function normally again. fMRI maps the brain to track stroke rehabilitation. 'We have shown that the brain has the ability to regain function through rehabilitative exercises following a stroke,' A. Aria Tzika, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, was quoted as saying. 'We have learned that the brain is malleable, even six months or more after a stroke, which is a longer period of time than previously thought. Our research is important because 65 percent of people who have a stroke affecting hand use are still unable to incorporate the affected hand into their daily activities after six months.' It was previously thought that there was only a short window of three to six months after a stroke when rehabilitation could help a patient improve - redOrbit