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Patient Trials for MyoPro Robotic Orthosis

September 2, 2019

Hobbs Rehabilitation hosts free patient trials for a robotic arm brace, said to be ‘like power steering for the arm’. A specialist group of neurological physiotherapists will be joined by the clinical team from the USA for a week of free patient trials for MyoPro, a robotic orthosis device designed to be portable and available to wear at home.

The MyoPro Patient Trials will run for 5 days from 16-20 September and represents the launch of a superb new service for people directly affected by an impairment of their arm and hand function.

Paul R. Gudonis, CEO of Myomo explains “This is really disruptive technology in the rehabilitation industry,”

Gudonis claimed, “Prior solutions have been hands-on therapy at the hospital or big stationary machines in clinics, but nothing portable that people can use at home.” Myomo uses sensors built into a cuff that fits over the bicep and tricep muscles. They detect electromyographic (EMG) signals and activate motors to move the arm at the elbow.

“Unlike implants in the brain, which are still experimental, electromyogram sensors sit in a device on the surface of the skin,” said Gudonis. “In able-bodied individuals, the muscle emits voltage when activated, and there’s 100% signal strength, but after a stroke or other injury, the signals are attenuated.”

“The myoelectric orthosis, or powered arm brace, detects the intention to move as the muscle sends a micro EMG signal,” he explained. “Onboard software deciphers it, providing power steering for the arm.”

Joe Green, Technology Lead at Hobbs Rehabilitation adds “The specialist neurological therapy team at Hobbs are very excited to be working with the MyoPro as it offers something very special and unique for our patients. The device gives extraordinary feedback and motivation to individuals struggling to activate muscles and move their arms.

As well as giving users the opportunity to re-engage with their arm and perform movement and exercise, it can operate as an assistive device enabling them to regain functional use.”

Helen Hobbs, the co-founder of Hobbs Rehabilitation, says “We are extremely proud of the service we provide both at our rehabilitation centres and in the community. Enabling people to get back to their families and to their everyday lives is at the heart of what we do and this initiative is a great example of our commitment to bring the latest advances in technology and therapeutic rehabilitation to our patients.”

The MyoPro Trials are set to run from Monday 16th to Friday 20th September and will enable us to determine whether a MyoPro device will be a suitable treatment option for a large number of patients. Individual sessions will last 1.5 hours per person and there are a handful of slots available to book.

The MyoPro is not available through the NHS but Hobbs, together with Dorset Orthopaedic, are the first organisations in the UK to work with the device.

The aim is that together, Hobbs and Dorset Orthopaedic become a centre of excellence with the MyoPro, providing clinical support to purchasers of the device and also offering a rehabilitation service, where non purchasers are able to use the device intensively on an outpatient basis.

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About Hobbs Rehabilitation

Founded by Nicky Ellis and Helen Hobbs in 2005, Hobbs Rehabilitation offers a full interdisciplinary service covering adult and paediatric physiotherapy, speech & language therapy, occupational therapy, neuropsychology and much more. Operating from many centres across the south of England with a team of over 100 clinicians, Hobbs Rehabilitation provides a co-ordinated patient centred, goal-orientated service.

Hobbs Rehabilitation has also launched The MiNT Academy in 2022. The MiNT Academy provides an innovative educational platform to encourage clinicians to embed neurotechnology into their clinical practice and product developers to collaborate at the design stage to produce clinically relevant products.

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Kirsti Pretty

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