STIMuGRIP® a new hand control implant

Every year, over 750,000 people in Europe have a stroke. That´s one person every minute. Most people affected are over 65; however around a third are below this age including children and even babies. A stroke is the third most common cause of death in Europe after heart disease and cancer. It is also the single most common cause of severe disability; Work Package 10 of the Healthy Aims project has developed an implanted neurostimulator to improve the upper limb function as a result of this disability.The FineTech Medical STIMuGRIP^reg system being developed assists patients that have an upper motor neuron lesion to extend the wrist and open the hand. The system is comprised of two main parts; a two channel implanted stimulator and an external control box. The external control unit incorporates a 3-axis accelerometer to detect deliberate movement by the patient. These movements are used to trigger the sequences of stimulation where applications predominately focus on wrist extension and opening of the fingers. The patient wears the controller unit on the effected limb, directly over the implant site being secured in place by a strap. The implant is designed to receive pulses of stimulation energy from the external controller unit by inductive coupling. The hardware has been designed with 4 modes; an exercise mode and 3 functional application modes. The Healthy Aims project is now in the last year of the four year development cycle. Starting in May, the described stimulator has been approved for implant trials at Salisbury Hospital where the performance will be evaluated.