Stroke survivors get new tools to lead more independent lives with help from an innovation lab
The lab was launched last month by Stroke Support Station (S3), a community-based charity focusing on stroke rehabilitation and wellness.
It is currently trialling projects like a wearable robotic device to help with stroke rehabilitation at home and a gym that will provide special equipment for stroke patients to maintain fitness while reducing the risk of secondary strokes.
Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability in Singapore. The number of cases has gone up by 58 per cent to nearly 10,000 in 2021, as compared to about 6,000 a decade ago, according to the Ministry of Health.
S3's executive director Ng Rei Na told CNA that the organisation was set up to fill the gap left by a lack of exercise and activities that stroke survivors could participate in, once they finished rehabilitation after leaving hospital.
GYM WITH ADAPTIVE TOOLS
Ms Ng said an adaptive gym at Ang Mo Kio Hub will open by the end of the year, with all stroke patients - regardless of whether they were a part of S3's rehabilitation programmes - welcome to use it.
Participants will be assessed physically by the specialists on site, and if cleared, they will be allowed to use any of the equipment, just like in a commercial gym.
Stroke survivor Kelvin Tan said he is looking forward to using the gym to aid in his recovery process.
"A lot of stroke survivors, they are worried about how other people will look at them … if you're walking, like limping … I believe this will give them confidence that they can actually … be like a normal human being,' said Mr Tan.
Ms Ng noted: 'For the adaptive gym, it was really from the voices of some of our members who said that after rehabilitation, they actually do want to continue and to push themselves to a higher level of fitness … in order to prevent a second or even third stroke from happening.'
Ms Michelle Neo, a senior physiotherapist at S3, said its clients do not usually know where to go or what they should do after they are discharged from rehab.
'The adaptive gym is designed (for them) to continue their fitness journey,' she added.
HELPING SURVIVORS REMAIN INDEPENDENT
S3's innovation lab is also looking at how to adapt items such as clothing for people who have mobility challenges or only have one functioning side of the body.
Ms Ng said that some members have raised issues with putting on regular clothing or having difficulty with very simple activities, including brushing their teeth, washing the plates or cutting their nails.
'Similarly, for the innovation lab, we realised that beyond just rehabilitation and ensuring that you can move well in our clinical setting, we also want our members to be able to move well in their own homes and in the community,' said Ms Ng.
Ms Elisa Lim, founder of Will & Well, a company that makes functional clothing for people with disabilities, said she wanted to help stroke survivors maximise their sense of independence even if they may have adapted their behaviour after suffering from a stroke.
She noted that another group of customers are those who have already adapted to a certain way of post-stroke dressing but are still looking for 'something different' to wear.
Ms Lim added that her company has also been researching different types of apparel, including functional undergarments, outer wear and inner wear.
VR AND ROBOTIC GLOVE
Another device that is being tested to help stroke survivors to keep up with their rehabilitation process is Omnihuman, a wearable robotic glove that is combined with a virtual reality (VR) headset to act as a personal physiotherapist at home, according to its creator, Orion Dai.
'The challenge we are tackling right now is that stroke survivors do not have a way to track the rehabilitation process from home. So, we're building this home-based device that allows them to do it via virtual reality as well as assistive robotics,' he said.
After talking to physiotherapists and stroke survivors, Mr Dai noted many of them are unable to adhere to exercise plans when they go home, due to various issues like fatigue or family and emotional issues.
He added that the wearable robotic glove and VR headset aims to use music-based activities to incentivise limb movement.
When users are unable to play the virtual musical instruments, the robotic glove kicks in to help them to complete the playing gestures and build a positive feedback loop.
Mr Dai said that about 20 participants, most of them S3 clients, are taking part in his trial to validate the product. He added that he hopes to work with more stroke survivors to understand their needs further.
S3's Ms Ng said that looking ahead, the charity intends to build a stroke centre of excellence and ensure the services and programmes offered are accessible to patients in terms of cost and distance.
It also plans to do more outreach in the community to highlight the danger of strokes.
'80 per cent of strokes can be prevented, so the education and knowledge has to be rolled out. The more people that know about this, the more lives we can save,' she added.
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