Since his stroke two years ago, David Sullivan has struggled to use his left side. A 40-year-old father of two young girls, he says a lot goes through his head every time he swings a bat or picks up a towel. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. “Now I imagine my hand opening.” After the stroke, Sullivan’s brain and body communicate differently – or not well at all. “I work on wrist rotation,” he said. “Being able to grab something and release it easily. Lots of shoulder work to reach shelves.” Repetition helps, but sometimes it’s not enough. Many patients like Sullivan hit a plateau. “He was very motivated to keep improving,” said Teresa Jacobson Kimberley, a professor at Mass General Hospital’s Health Professions Institute and an expert in rehabilitation sciences. your hand, move your hand’ and it won’t move,” she demonstrated. “It doesn’t take just a signal to get it through.” Kimberley’s research led to the development of a device to help stimulate that signal to the brain. “It’s not just for people who just had a stroke,” she said. “It can be someone who had a stroke a while ago. was several years old, who was told that he had reached a plateau and would not improve. It’s now available to her.” It’s called the Vivistim system. To work, a surgeon implants this device just under the skin on the chest. A wire runs along the vagus nerve from the neck to the brain. A When activated at home or in rehab, the device sends a mild electrical impulse through the wire.” It directly stimulates the nerve, which then sends its message to the brain, helping to release neurotransmitters that help you form the connections you need so those nerves can get stronger,” Kimberely said. In clinical trials, patients who used the system during exercises saw their improvement double or even triple in six months. Sullivan underwent the procedure in September.” So two months later, I noticed for the arm or the shoulder some gains,” he said. “It’s encouraging. The hand is definitely slower, but I expected that.” The success so far motivates Sullivan to do more, but so does her daughters. “That’s my job right now,” he said. “Every day. Several times a day. It’s constant.” At this time, the Vivistim system is only approved to treat upper extremity motor function, but new research is underway to assess its impact on d ‘other areas, such as the legs and even speech. Patients interested in learning more about treatment can contact the MGH Neurorecovery Clinic.
Since his stroke two years ago, David Sullivan has struggled to use his left side.
A 40-year-old father of two young girls, he says a lot goes through his head every time he swings a bat or picks up a towel.
“Extend,” Sullivan said aloud, as he placed laundry in a hamper at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. “Now I imagine my hand opening.”
After the stroke, Sullivan’s brain and body communicate differently – or not well at all.
“I work on wrist rotation,” he said. “Being able to grab something and release it easily. Lots of shoulder work to reach shelves.”
Repetition helps, but sometimes it’s not enough. Many patients like Sullivan hit a plateau.
“He was very motivated to keep improving,” said Teresa Jacobson Kimberley, a professor at Mass General Hospital’s Health Professions Institute and an expert in rehabilitation science.
“So you could say, ‘Move your hand, move your hand,’ and this one won’t move,” she demonstrated. “That’s not a sufficient signal to make him leave.”
Kimberley’s research led to the development of a device to help stimulate this signal to the brain.
“It’s not just for people who have just had a stroke,” she said. “It can be someone who had a stroke several years ago, who was told they had plateaued and weren’t going to get better. It’s now available to them. “
This is called the Vivistim system.
To work, a surgeon implants this device just under the skin on the chest. A thread runs along the vagus nerve from the neck to the brain. When activated at home or in rehab, the device sends a mild electrical pulse through the wire.
“It directly stimulates the nerve, which then sends its message to the brain, helping to release neurotransmitters that help you form the connections you need for those nerves to grow stronger,” Kimberely said.
In clinical trials, patients who used the system during exercise saw their improvement double or even triple in six months.
Sullivan underwent the procedure in September.
“So two months later I noticed for the arm or the shoulder some gains,” he said. “It’s encouraging. The hand is definitely slower, but I expected that.”
The success so far motivates Sullivan to do more, but so does her daughters.
“That’s my job right now,” he said. “Every day. Several times a day. It’s constant.”
Currently, the Vivistim system is only approved to treat upper extremity motor function, but further research is underway to assess its impact on other areas, such as the legs and even speech.
Patients interested in learning more about treatment can contact the MGH Neurorecovery Clinic.
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