Myoelectric computer interfaces to reduce co-contraction after stroke.

Zachary A. Wright*, W. Zev Rymer, Marc W. Slutzky

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

A significant factor in impaired motor function caused by stroke is the inability to activate muscles independently. While the pathophysiology behind this co-contraction, sometimes called abnormal muscle synergy, is not clear, reducing the co-contraction could improve overall arm function. This pilot study describes the use of a myoelectric-computer interface (MCI) to retrain arm muscle activation and reduce co-contraction. We found that both healthy subjects and stroke survivors with hemiparesis learned to reduce co-contraction with MCI training. Three out of five stroke survivors experienced some improvement in arm function as well. These results suggest that MCIs could provide a novel, relatively inexpensive paradigm for stroke rehabilitation.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Signal Processing
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Health Informatics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Myoelectric computer interfaces to reduce co-contraction after stroke.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this