title: Integrative rehabilitation of elderly stroke survivors: the design and evaluation of the BrightArm™.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development of the BrightArm upper extremity rehabilitation system, and to determine its clinical feasibility with older hemiplegic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The BrightArm adjusted arm gravity loading through table tilting. Patients wore an arm support that sensed grasp strength and communicated wirelessly with a personal computer. Games were written to improve cognitive, psychosocial and the upper extremity motor function and adapted automatically to each patient. The system underwent feasibility trials spanning 6 weeks. Participants were evaluated pre-therapy, post-therapy, and at 6 weeks follow-up using standardized clinical measures. Computerized measures of supported arm reach and game performance were stored on a remote server.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five participants had clinically significant improvements in their active range of shoulder movement, shoulder strength, grasp strength, and their ability to focus. Several participants demonstrated substantially higher arm function (measured with the Fugl-Meyer test) and two were less-depressed (measured with the Becks Depression Inventory, Second Edition). The BrightArm technology was well-accepted by the participants, who gave it an overall subjective rating of 4.1 on a 5 point Likert scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given these preliminary findings, it will be beneficial to evaluate the BrightArm through controlled clinical trials and to investigate its application to other clinical populations.
authors: Bright Cloud International Corp, Highland Park, NJ 08904-2035, USA.
authors: Bryan A
authors: BA
authors: Rabin
authors: Grigore C
authors: GC
authors: Burdea
authors: Doru T
authors: DT
authors: Roll
authors: Jasdeep S
authors: JS
authors: Hundal
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Damiani
authors: Simcha
authors: S
authors: Pollack
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation