Emerging Technology Reaches out to Brain Injury Victims

Victims suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) or TBI caused by a stroke-induced brain injury were recently introduced to new technology enabling improvements of motor and physical skills among victims. Several companies have made advances in technology allowing victims to learn to reuse limbs paralyzed by TBI and stroke-induced TBI as well as to assist in stimulating nerves and muscles.

According to Bioness, manufacturers of the technology units known as NESS, the wearable technology can be worn in areas where extreme damage has been done to the muscles and nerves due to TBI. The technology uses mild electronic shocks to stimulate the muscles and nerves of the afflicted area, thus allowing movement.
The products have been implemented in several hospitals, including Sierra Providence Physical Rehabilitation Hospital in El Paso, Texas, for individuals suffering from brain injuries that may need short- and long-term assistance from their TBI injury.

Some of the technology in existence available to aid victims includes hand and foot rehabilitation devices. The hand rehabilitation technology is a plastic cuff molded around the hand, wrist and forearm and consists of six electrodes that transmit electronic impulses to stimulate nerves and muscles. The stimulation causes the muscles to become less stiff while also increasing circulation and strength of the injured area.

The hand rehabilitation device is attached to a small computer that, according to news reports, is similar to a handheld gaming gadget. The gadget is used to control electric shocks.

Individuals who suffer from foot drop will likely benefit from the foot cuff that wraps around a leg and knee, assisting a victim with walking and lifting their afflicted foot. The cuff, also attached to a game-like gadget uses sensors that detect the range of motion for a foot and heel to hitting the ground. Through nerve stimulation, the cuff allows a victim to control their foot mobility.

Another study published in the Journal of Biological Engineering found that individuals who were treated with injectable simply polymer, polyethylene glycol (PEG), in the blood stream showed signs of less damage in the brain.

Technology Assists TBI Victims

As TBI becomes an ever-increasing technology among Americans, the technology has grown to encompass or assist the wide-range of TBI side effects. This type of technology is finding its way into mainstream America as researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York led by Nicholas Schiff as well as manufacturers are looking at this emerging technolgoy. Weill and his colleagues are studying the effects of electrically stimulating parts of the brain to improve TBI after-effects.

The study found that patients of TBI who have seriously debilitating side effects have a surprising level of brain activity and that if the victim's neural circuits are left intact, the brain can benefit and become active with stimulation.

Deep brain stimulation is a method used by scientists that consists of electrodes surgically implanted into a victim's brain. These electrodes are also connected to a pacemaker implanted in the chest. The device can be turned on or off, but once the device was turned on in many of their patients, arousal of cells occurred, and, with time, a patient's behaviors and abilities improved gradually.

Causes of TBI

While researchers, scientists and manufacturers continue to make strides with technological devices to assist brain injury victims there are still approximately 1.4 million victims of traumatic brain injury annually and of that, nearly 235,000 are hospitalized with 1.1 million victims treated and released from the hospital and a total of close to 50,000 brain injury fatalities annually. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 5.3 million Americans suffer from long-term TBI after affects and that the medical costs associated with TBI range have been speculated to be around $60 billion.

There are numerous ways in which an individual can sustain a brain injury including but there are four accidents that make up most of these injuries:

* Falls, accounting for 28 percent of TBI accidents

* Automobile and traffic accidents are responsible for 20 percent of brain injury accidents.

* Nineteen percent are caused by being stuck by or against something

* Assaults account for 11 percent of brain injuries among individuals.

It is advisable to locate an experienced brain injury attorney for victims of TBI. Often times, expenses of medical bills associated with treating a brain injury can be far too costly for an average individual to pay for, which is why it is a necessity to speak with a TBI lawyer. It is advisable to contact a TBI law firm to learn about the details of brain injury litigation.

Other Common TBI Treatments

There is an array of TBI treatments already available for TBI victims, and there are additional treatments being researched worldwide as well. Some of the most common treatments including surgery, medications or decompression of the brain, although counseling and therapy, both physical and mental, are most often outcomes from TBI as surgeries and experimental treatments are costly.

To learn more on protection yourself from a TBI injury or how to find protection while suffering from TBI, locate an experienced brain injury attorney who can provide insight into bettering the situation.

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