Mirror therapy for stroke patients is breaking new ground
IT RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN FUNDED FOR FRESH TRIALS AND MARKET RESEARCH INTO DEVICE
Researchers from IT Sligo are gaining ground internationally with their exciting new mirror therapy for stroke patients.
They’ve received funding for fresh trials in September and a grant from Enterprise Ireland to further develop a new medical device.
Their clinical trials used mirrors in conjunction with exercises on the device to trick the brain into thinking a stroke- affected limb was working again.
Participants’ arms and legs got stronger as a result.
Director of the Clinical Health & Nutrition Centre ( CHANCE) at the IT, Dr Ken Monaghan set up the Stroke Research Group which includes PhD students Monika Ehrensberger, Daniel Simpson and Patrick Broderick.
“Monica and Dan got very positive feedback when they presented their research at the Irish Stroke Conference in Dublin,” he said.
Some of the world’s top experts in neurology attended the Dublin conference.
“Following on from that, Dan and Monica presented at the European Stroke Conference in Berlin and again it was very well received,” he said.
“They asked us what kind of participants we had, what were the outcomes, what they benefited from, the mechanics, how mirror- therapy works,” said Monica.
“We had a really positive response. Some stroke experts from the States, Holland and from Germany were there, it was really well received,” added Daniel.
The Centre has received ¤ 30,000 to pay for another post- graduate researcher to come on board and start fresh clinical trials in the autumn.
The three researchers worked with Creative Design Lecturer, Dave Roberts to invent a device that patients could use in their own homes.
The prototype is so well developed Enterprise Ireland have signalled their approval by granting them ¤ 15,000 towards doing some market research into the area.
“They think that the device has good potential,” said Ken.
“We know now how the exercises work so we’ll design trials that should show better effects,” he said.
“The case now is that we’ve tried and shown there is merits in these principles so now we want to find out the right ‘ dose patients need to use,” he said.
If the market research provides evidence there is a market for their device, they can apply for further funding from Enterprise Ireland to manufacture it.
However Ken sees a physical device as just the start - he believes the future of stroke rehabilitation should involve both limbs in a virtual reality environment.
An Irish professor at John Hopkins University in America is pioneering robotic equipment for stroke patients.
“We should be talking to people like that, funding somebody to come in here, use our device and put it into some kind of a game or virtual reality. I think that’s the next stage we move on to,” he said, “We’ve reached our tipping point.”