Monday, December 13, 2010

A Bionic Leg: Treatment for Stroke Victims

Commonly held medical wisdom concerning stroke victims is that once the patient has reached the one year anniversary of their event, very little if any, further progress is obtainable. It seems however that a start up in Sunnyvale CA believes differently.

Tibion has developed a battery-powered robotic, exoskeleton to aid patients in walking. The "Bionic" leg is not a full time device though. Tibion believes that if a patients who wear the device for 15 minutes at a time, over a three times a week period will make significant improvements, even after a protracted period of little or no therapy.

Wearing the Tibion leg promotes neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to rewire itself to repair damage) by providing feedback to the brain, this triggers the brain to lay down new pathways around the damaged areas.

Read the complete article on how the device works at San Francisco Xconomy

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