Over five million people in the UK live with arm weakness, often due to stroke. The only intervention shown to improve arm function is repetitive, task-specific exercise. However, this has been limited by the cost, access to and availability of occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
Dr Paul Bentley (Department of Brain Sciences) and Professor Etienne Burdet (Department of Bioengineering) created a simple, cheap solution called GripAble, which patients use to play arm-training games in their own homes. The GripAble system comprises a lightweight electronic handgrip that interacts wirelessly with a standard PC tablet.
Clinical trials have shown that Gripable’s platform can increase the amount of arm exercises stroke patients do without professional supervision and it is now the most widely adopted technology in the UK upper limb therapy market.