New Software to Motivate Patients towards Higher Effort
Research suggests that the neural plasticity of the brain is retained and new connections can be made through intensive, repetitive task-oriented movements. The Armeo devices are clinically effective therapy solutions, which leverage the latest scientific findings to increase therapy intensity in arm and hand neuro-rehabilitation, with more repetitions at higher active patient effort.
The new Armeo Software, which will be rolled out from November 2014, is the core of all Armeo devices. The key innovation are the new exercises with Augmented Performance Feedback, which increases the patient’s active effort using motivating game-like tasks in virtual reality environments. The large exercise library was developed together with leading hospitals, to cover the therapeutic goals for all patients from severe to moderately affected. “Compared to existing solutions, the new Armeo Software provides improved performance reward, as well as long-term motivation from increasingly challenging game levels. Moreover, we enable the therapist to easily personalize the therapy plan to each individual patient’s needs, including motor and cognitive abilities“, said Dr. Vaclav Potesil, Product Manager for the Armeo product line at Hocoma.
500th ArmeoSpring installed at hospital SRH Bad Wimpfen, Germany
Hocoma has recently achieved an important milestone with the sale of its 500th ArmeoSpring to the German hospital SRH Gesundheitszentrum Bad Wimpfen, one of the leading and most innovative neurological rehabilitation centers in Germany. The hospital invested in a state-of-the-art center for computer-based rehabilitation and has been involved as a pilot user in the development of the new Armeo Software.
Prof. Dr. Volker Hömberg, the Neurology Director at SRH Gesundheitszentrum Bad Wimpfen, is convinced of the advantages of the new Armeo Software: “Recovery after brain injury is still not fully understood, but we know one thing for sure: Training intensity is the biggest driver of neuroplasticity and motivation is an absolutely crucial element for a successful rehabilitation. Armeo supports this in the best possible way. Thanks to Armeo training, our patients are motivated to achieve a higher number of repetitions. In the long run, they will achieve a faster recovery and improved outcomes”.
About the Armeo Therapy Concept
The Armeo Therapy Concept includes four distinct products for upper extremity neurological rehabilitation, the ArmeoPower, ArmeoSpring, ArmeoSpring Pediatric and ArmeoBoom, which cover all stages of the recovery process, from the most severely affected early-stage patients, to long-term rehabilitation in the out-patient settings. All Armeo products combine arm-weight support in a large 3D workspace, with motivating game-like exercises and assessments to track patient progress.
The ArmeoSpring is the world’s most widely used arm rehabilitation exoskeleton, based on research and development conducted at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC). It improves the functional outcomes and efficiency of therapy by offering self-initiated, motivating and intense exercises to individuals who have suffered strokes, traumatic brain injury or neurological disorders resulting in hand and arm impairment. Even severely impaired patients can practice independently, without the constant presence of a therapist, allowing them to exploit their full potential for recovery.
