Stroke survivors still missing out on rehab
Australia has a chronic shortage of specialised stroke rehabilitation services despite the fact that it is the second biggest cause of death and a leading cause of disability, a new report from the National Stroke Foundation has revealed.
National Stroke Foundation chief executive officer, Dr Erin Lalor, said that too many stroke survivors are being denied access to the specialised care essential to their recovery and ability to live independently – despite the fact that there are 60,000 strokes occurring in Australia every year.
Dr Lalor said the report had shown there had been very little improvement in stroke rehabilitation in the last two years.
“Of the 60,000 strokes that occur in Australia every year, one-third of people affected will be left with a disability. Of those people who suffer a disability, 36% will require inpatient rehabilitation – rehabilitation outside their home,” she said.
“This review of rehabilitation services clearly shows demand is dramatically outstripping supply. Australia has very few specialised stroke rehabilitation units despite the fact that these units are proven to improve the chances of a good recovery.”
The National Stroke Audit of Rehabilitation Services is the only program of its kind in Australia. It is designed to provide an overview of rehabilitation services for stroke and makes several important recommendations on stroke care based on feedback from hospitals that reported almost 7,000 stroke admissions.
NZ research shows virtual rehab helps after stroke
Millions of stroke survivors worldwide could benefit from technology developed by New Zealand company, Industrial Research Limited (IRL), that uses virtual reality and assistive devices to speed up the rehabilitation process.
The new tools should also provide low-cost therapeutic benefit to others with upper limb and cognitive movement disorders such as those caused by spinal cord injuries.
A big problem for stroke survivors during the rehab process is maintaining a regime of continuing exercise when they have limited arm improvement.
The survivor must maintain strength and also reconnect his brain to his arm. No low-cost devices exist to help the survivor exercise in a stimulating and purposeful way. Coupled with a loss of independence, the patient can easily feel discouraged.
Ways needed to be found for patients to take control of their own rehabilitation, thereby helping to restore hope and confidence, as well as reducing the huge associated healthcare costs.
IRL looked at introducing computer gaming into the rehabilitation process, to make it easier to exercise longer and being both stimulating and rewarding by bringing focus and concentration to the task of completing a game. These are all known to improve rehabilitation outcomes.
The project developed computer games specifically for this purpose, along with new low-cost rehabilitation equipment to operate the games in a way that encourages exercise patterns for the patient.
One such piece of equipment is the Gerbil, a giant computer mouse with custom-designed computer games for people with upper limb and cognitive movement disorders. This is a unique assisted therapy that uses virtual reality to increase the exercise effort required by normal table-based therapy.
It has been validated in clinical trials and is cost effective for the user. Performance feedback is provided to both patient and therapist— and it can be used by the patient independently of the therapist.
