Strokes, which occur when the blood supply to part of our brains is interrupted or decreased, are the leading cause of death and disability in the adult population. Of the surviving patients, 75% will have difficulty performing daily activities independently and will require long-term functional exercise and rehabilitation. But the results with traditional rehabilitation equipment are poor. In addition, the patient’s motivation to exercise is often low.
Tongji Hospital’s Neurology Department, affiliated with Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, is recognized in China for the quality of its scientific research and clinical strength. Similarly, Zhejiang BrainCo, Ltd., incubated by the Harvard Innovation Lab, is a leader in brain-computer interfaces; is referred to by many as the next generation of artificial intelligence.
In the NCyborg project, the two organizations will draw on their expertise in brain-computer interface technology and brain-inspired intelligent robotic technology to establish a stroke rehabilitation process driven by the patient’s initiative. In an article published in the KeAi journal Brain Hemorrhages, they outline the three main focuses of the project:
1. An algorithm for analyzing the movement intention of stroke patients based on brain-computer interface technology.
2. A movement control strategy for a rehabilitation robot based on a brain-inspired movement perception.
3. The stroke rehabilitation mechanism using brain-inspired intelligent robots.
First, they train the robot to support the rehabilitation of the hand – a part of the body that often has limited mobility after a stroke. The team’s goal is to detect no fewer than eight hand movement intentions with an accuracy of? 90% and a response time of? 300 ms.
Corresponding author Jonh H. Zhang explains, “The aim of the project is to develop an easy-to-use, reliable, and affordable stroke rehabilitation robot that will improve rehabilitation effectiveness for stroke survivors, speed up the rehabilitation process and reduce associated costs.”
We hope that within five years millions of stroke patients will be using this product and making their lives better. “
Bicheng Han, co-corresponding author
According to co-author Zhouping Tang, the “N” in the name of the NCyborg project stands for “neural”, while “cyborg” in fictional stories is often “an icon that is mentally and / or physically improved beyond the“ norm ”’ with technology. In truth, we believe that the NCyborg project will develop a brand new stroke rehabilitation regimen that could qualitatively improve the treatment effect for stroke survivors. “
Source:
Journal reference:
Q. Huang et al. (2021) NCyborg Project – A new stroke rehabilitation pattern based on a brain-computer interface. Cerebral hemorrhage. doi.org/10.1016/j.hest.2021.05.002.
