Stroke is a disease that usually results in disability and is the leading cause of death in the older adults community. A stroke happens when the supply of blood on the human brain is reduced or decreased from the normal flow. Stroke is a devastating disease that does not stop the agony even if the patient recovers from it.
Brain-Computer Program Potential Treatment for Stroke Survivors
75 percent of the stroke survivors are recorded with difficulties in conducting simple, daily activities. These people cannot move independently without supervision and heavily relies on long-term care and rehabilitation programs. However, using traditional equipment and long-term exercises in stroke rehabilitation have limited effect on the patients. The desire of patients to participate in programs listed under a rehabilitation process is also affected by poor motivation due to lack of equipment, reports EurekAlert.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology is recognized as one of the most prestigious clinical research institutes in China. The university oversees Tongji Medical College and the Department of Neurology in the Tongji Hospital. The Chinese research institute collaborated with the brain-computer interface top producer Zheijang BrainCo, Ltd to conduct a study regarding the utilization of robots for stroke patients.
The institutes aim to produce brain-computer interface technology and brain-inspired artificial intelligence for the betterment of equipment used in stroke rehabilitation. Together, they have developed NCyborg Project, a program that could help patients who were diagnosed with stroke get back their motor skills and have the independence to carry out their daily movements.
NCyborg Project's stroke rehabilitation development and studies were published in the journal Brain Hemorrhages entitled "NCyborg Project - A new stroke rehabilitation pattern based on brain-computer interface." The project contains several brain-computer programs that are beneficial for stroke survivors that undergo rehabilitation.
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AI Robot Pattern for Improvement of Stroke Rehabilitation
The NCyborg Project includes analysis and prediction of the patient's movement through the algorithm of the brain-computer interface technology. Along with the movement prediction, NCyborg also has a motion control strategy based on brain-inspired motion perception. According to the study, the rehabilitation process begins with the robotic support of the left hand of the stroke patient, as the specified body part is usually paralyzed and has limited movement capacity after a stroke occurs.
Loma Linda Univerisity School of Medicine's neurosurgery expert and co-author of the study John H. Zhang said that the key interest of the NCyborg development is to have a user-friendly, reliable, and affordable stroke rehabilitation assistant. Zhang added that through the help of the NCyborg rehab robots, the improvement rates of stroke survivors are expected to increase. The brain-computer AI robots can also speed up rehabilitation procedures in a simple, cheaper way.
Zhejiang Qiangnao Technology Co., Ltd expert and co-author of the study Bicheng Han said that the team estimates million of patients will benefit from NCyborg. Han expresses that the improvement of stroke survivors is expected to be significant in just five years of utilizing the brain-computer interface rehabilitation pattern. If completed, the NCyborg Project will be among the greatest contributions to the cardiology and neurology fields, improving the treatment process for stroke survivors, Medical Xpress reports.
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