Improving Upper Extremity Function and Quality of Life with a Tongue Driven Exoskeleton: A Pilot Study Quantifying Stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract EN

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability around the world.

Many survivors experience upper extremity (UE) impairment with few rehabilitation opportunities, secondary to a lack of voluntary muscle control.

We developed a novel rehabilitation paradigm (TDS-HM) that uses a Tongue Drive System (TDS) to control a UE robotic device (Hand Mentor: HM) while engaging with an interactive user interface.

In this study, six stroke survivors with moderate to severe UE impairment completed 15 two-hour sessions of TDS-HM training over five weeks.

Participants were instructed to move their paretic arm, with synchronized tongue commands to track a target waveform while using visual feedback to make accurate movements.

Following TDS-HM training, significant improvements in tracking performance translated into improvements in the UE portion of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment, range of motion, and all subscores for the Stroke Impact Scale.

Regression modeling found daily training time to be a significant predictor of decreases in tracking error, indicating the presence of a potential dose-response relationship.

The results of this pilot study indicate that the TDS-HM system can elicit significant improvements in moderate to severely impaired stroke survivors.

This pilot study gives preliminary insight into the volume of treatment time required to improve outcomes.