According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 deaths (17.5%) from cardiovascular disease was due to stroke in 2022.
Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, with stroke-related costs reaching nearly $56.2 billion between 2019 and 2020. Stroke is also a leading cause of serious long-term disability with costs including health care services, medicines to treat stroke, and missed days of work.
A new option that stroke patients and physicians can explore as part of a rehab program is the Neofect Smart Glove. It was designed for training programs to promote motor learning and brain reorganization to improve arm and hand function for adults rehabilitating from stroke.
The glove is a high-tech device that measures movements of the forearm, wrist and digits with accelerometer and bending sensors. The Neofect Smart Glove goes beyond traditional resistance bands and putty to create occupation-based hand exercises in an entertaining virtual reality environment. Squeeze an orange in a virtual kitchen. Throw a ball in a baseball stadium. Simply turn the pages of a book.
Based on the company’s website, the glove has gone through clinical trials including:
- Results published in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
- Smart Glove users demonstrated statistically significant improvements in Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery After Stroke and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test as compared to dose-matched conventional OT controls1
- Greater upper extremity functional improvements maintained at one-month follow-up for experimental Smart Glove group.1
The company is based in Waltham, Mass., but does not list a price for the Neofect Smart Glove. To learn more, visit https://www.neofect.com/us/smart-glove.
1 Shin et al. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2016;13:17