A new electronic device the size of a mobile phone could transform aftercare for stroke patients and help them regain movement and control of their hands.
The small bit of kit, which is being tested in medical trials, delivers a series of weak electrical shocks followed by an audible click to strengthen brain and spinal connections.
Developed by neuroscientists at Newcastle University, it is thought this could revolutionise treatment for patients by providing a wearable solution to the effects of stroke.
Stuart Baker, Professor of Movement Neuroscience, said: "We have developed a miniaturised device which delivers an audible click followed by a weak electric shock to the arm muscle to strengthen the brain's connections.
"This means the stroke patients in the trial are wearing an earpiece and a pad on the arm, each linked by wires to the device so that the click and shock can be continually delivered to them.
"We think that if they wear this for four hours a day we will be able to see a permanent improvement in their extensor muscle connections which will help them gain control on their hand."
The techniques to strengthen brain connections using paired stimuli are well documented, but until now this has needed bulky equipment with a mains electricity supply.
Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the team looked at how to strengthen connections in the reticulospinal tract, one of the signal pathways between the brain and spinal cord.
This is because when people have a stroke, they often lose the major pathway found in all mammals connecting the brain to spinal cord.
The team first carried out tests on primates, which changed their thinking on how to activate the pathways.
Professor Stuart Baker said: "We would never have thought of using audible clicks unless we had the recordings from primates to show us that this might work. Furthermore, it is our earlier work in primates which shows that the connections we are changing are definitely involved in stroke recovery."
Working with experts at the Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata, India, a clinical trial involving 150 stroke patients will now get underway.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel