BehindTheMedspeak: Hand Mentor

An astounding new piece of high–tech medical equipment is now ready for prime time.

It's the Hand Mentor (above) from Kinetic Muscles of Tempe, Arizona, and it promises to revolutionize the treatment of people who have lost muscle function due to stroke and other brain injuries.

Ranit Mishori wrote about the device in today's Washington Post Health section.

Here's the article.

A Hand for a Hand

People who lose muscle function due to stroke and other brain injuries may get some help from the Hand Mentor, pictured above.

Essentially it's a "smart" rehab exercise machine that senses how far the patient can move the muscle on her own.

Once that limit is reached, the device takes over, continuing to move the muscle through the full range of motion, a key step in preparing it for independent movement.

According to Jay L. Alberts, a researcher at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Center for Neurological Restoration at the Cleveland Clinic, it "pushes the patient to give maximal effort."

The Hand Mentor also provides visual feedback to patients, via a small screen, about the force, position and electrical activity of their muscle.

The exercise regimen is very rigorous and, according to the manufacturer, Kinetic Muscles of Tempe, Ariz., requires at least two to three hours a day, four or five days a week.

The $4,000 Hand Mentor is sold by prescription only and is not covered by Medicare.

The first randomized clinical trial to determine the system's effects is underway.

What makes this such a tremendous breakthrough is that the continuing power of Moore's Law has enabled the tremendous computational power harnessed in this consumer–level device to be affordable, even though $4,000 is still not exactly pocket money.

Five years ago a device performing functions such as those enabled by the Hand Mentor required a technician, a desk–sized computer and cost about $250,000.

Awesome.