As those suffering from the carpal tunnel syndrome will tell you, that tingling sensation isn't good news. It might start as a mild swelling in the fingers, but the syndrome is anything but mild.
It is to help people suffering from this condition that a group of students in the United States came up with Re-Hand, a software-assisted hand rehabilitation device, which allows users to gain back strength, dexterity and coordination in the fingers and hands.
The device, developed by biomedical engineering students of Georgia Tech, part of the graduating class of 2011, makes use of the knowledge in mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science and human physiology.
The device has three components: a handle to measure total grip strength as well as individualised finger strength; a locking-base platform to allow exercise in the form of wrist flexion and extension; and interactive software that has a game to make the workout fun and a data exportation feature that allows the doctor to monitor the patient's progress.
A recent winner of the InVenture prize at Georgia Tech in a competition that benchmarks the capability of students for innovation, the device impressed the judges with its multidisciplinary approach.
“Currently, simplistic devices like stress balls are prescribed as a home rehabilitation tool for patients with injured hands,” says Daphne Vincent, Re-hand team member and now part of Emory University's Departments of Rehabilitation and Neurology. “The exercise is monotonous and patients don't even know whether they are getting better because there is no feedback offered. Re-Hand improves upon the current devices by bringing technology into… home rehabilitation.”
Gaming component
The gaming component makes rehabilitation fun. “This makes the patient forget that they are actually exercising,” says Elizabeth LeMar, who worked on the design of Re-Hand and developed the gaming component of the software. “The data exportation component provides accountability and allows the doctor to monitor how the patient is faring, so that they can provide individualised and immediate feedback.”
Re-Hand initially started off as a design project for the students at Georgia Institute of Technology. “When we first began the project, we met a patient who suffered from cervical spinal cord injury as a result of a motorcycle accident,” says Alkindi Kibria who has been involved with the regulatory work as well as the test method development for Re-Hand. “He needed to undergo rehabilitation for his hands and he was really struggling with it because the process of rehabilitation is extremely difficult and boring. Additionally, the devices he was using… at home offered him no motivation and gave him no feedback. Speaking with him and other patients in need of hand rehabilitation allowed us to realise that there was a desperate need for an update in home rehabilitation devices.”
The team designed three working prototypes of Re-Hand. Before the competition, one was being used by a patient at home full time and the two others were being used in physical therapy clinics. Pricing the product at $100 was important.
“Our desire in pricing the product was to have it accessible to a variety of people regardless of their economic status. We truly believe that Re-Hand will help millions gain back the independence that they once had,” says Kunal MacDonald, who was involved in the prototyping of the device.
The team is now developing a marketing plan and will start by introducing the device to doctors and physical therapists who will then recommend it to patients.
