´Neurogame Therapy´ for Improvement of Movement Coordination after Brain Injury: Developing a Wireless Biosignal Game Therapy System

Emerging technology holds tremendous promise for improving recovery following brain injury. Here we describe a home-based rehabilitation system for improving volitional control of hand movement. People with cerebral palsy and those recovering from stroke or traumatic brain injury often have difficulty producing coordinated movements of the hand and arm on one side of the body. Surface electromyography (sEMG) recorded over affected muscles is used to provide enhanced visual feedback via a computer game interface. Several weeks of practice using this system has resulted in improved muscle coordination. Preliminary results are shown from the next generation of this system, which will employ ultra-low power wireless sensors to transmit muscle activity to a home computer.