Stroke survivors often struggle with manipulating objects. They lose the sensation in their hands and fingers, which is the usual impairment they experience daily.
This condition affects their activities and lowers the quality of their lives to an extent.
As a solution to this problem, a group of scientists from the UK's University of Hertfordshire has developed a special touchpad that can allow them to feel once again.
Touchpad Device to Regain Loss of Sensation
In an article by E&T, the University of Hertfordshire researchers have created a unique invention that can bring back the sense of touch among stroke survivors.
This particular device is capable of sending tiny vibrations to the patient's fingertips. This will give life to the brain cells so they can function once again and restore the sensation of the limbs.
If the survivor wears this device, they could now normally function as before. They can do tasks on their own without asking for help from other people.
"Improvement in touch sensation should lead to them being able to sense that they are holding hands. That definitely should be possible," Dr. Amit Pujari, the neuroscientist who turns out to be the inventor of the device, said.
Stroke Cases Globally
According to Interesting Engineering, stroke patients suffer a lot from the aftermath of the disease. Particularly, it can cause paralysis, speech loss, and even episodes of confusion in people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that around the world, 15 million individuals experience this condition annually. Out of this number, five million have become disabled for life, while another five million died from this condition.
For two decades, experts have been finding ways to treat it. Pujari said that vibration therapy could be an effective method of treating stroke.
However, the field of neuroscience seems to have a lot of technical problems when it comes to tackling the issue. At that time, no one had come up with the idea that could be very helpful to all stroke survivors.
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The Trial
During the British Science Festival, the device developer urged the participants to tell if they had sensations on their hands while the tool was placed.
The trial lasted for 10 minutes. The researchers found that 20 to 40% of them have shown an improved sensation in their limbs.
The 40 people who participated in the trial had a reported case of stroke. Some of them felt a loss in sensation because of diabetic neuropathy.
Aside from enhancing the patient's movements, the test proved that it could also be a huge help in improving a patient's mental well-being.
The study is expected to undergo a peer review in the future. The experts are still wondering about the device's impact in the long run. They also want to tackle how effective it is for patients who suffer from stroke.
Meanwhile, CBC reported that there's a medical device that prevents permanent brain damage in just a matter of minutes. The so-called balloon distal access catheter or BDAC can potentially eliminate a blood clot in just 10 minutes.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
