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Research Team Presents Promising Preliminary Results from TBI Study Using Myomo's MyoProResearchers from the Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center (NUPOC) and the Cleveland VA Medical Center have presented promising preliminary case reports from a clinical trial that evaluates the effects of the MyoPro myoelectric arm orthosis (powered brace) from Myomo on traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. The study, which began in 2016 and is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, includes veterans and non-veterans with TBI who have limited arm or hand functionality. Participants in the study received nine weeks of therapy and training with the MyoPro, followed by nine weeks of home use, with intermittent functional evaluations. The investigators presented interim findings at the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Annual Scientific Meeting. They reported that "people with long-standing TBI have improved function when using a wearable myoelectric upper limb orthosis. Among three study subjects, [they] reported a reduction of spasticity and motor impairment as measured by the Modified Ashworth Scale and Fugl-Meyer Assessment, respectively; and one subject's improvement in functional activity, as assessed by the Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory," according to a NUPOC bulletin from March 2018. Based on patented technology developed at MIT (News - Alert), MyoPro is the only wearable myoelectric upper limb orthosis on the market. It is a powered brace that senses a patient's own EMG signals through non-invasive sensors enabling a paralyzed or weakened arm to function. This allows MyoPro users to perform activities of daily living, including feeding themselves, carrying objects and doing household tasks. Many patients are even able to return to work. MyoPro is developed by Myomo (NYSE American: MYO), a wearable medical robotics company. Qualified veterans may receive MyoPro through U.S. Veterans Administration Medical Centers across the country. "MyoPro is restoring arm mobility and increased independence to mlitary and civilian TBI patients," said Paul R. Gudonis, Chairman and CEO of Myomo. "The preliminary results of this study are encouraging. They show similar functional improvements in TBI patients as with patients suffering arm and hand impairment from stroke, spinal cord injury, brachial plexus injury and other neuromuscular conditions that we have seen in previous studies and in practice." For more information on the study visit http://www.nupoc.northwestern.edu/docs/research/orthotics/marchisbraininjuryawarenessmonth_bulletin.pdf.
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