Neurologist invents device for hand rehab after stroke
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA neurologist in Evansville is passionate about reaching the masses with a simple but sophisticated tool he invented to help patients regain function in their hands after a stroke or brain injury. Plasticity Neurorehabilitation founder Dr. Luke Barr says half to 80% of the patients who lose hand function after a stroke or brain injury never regain it. His answer is a deceivingly simple-looking knob and paddle device that is already helping dozens of patients—and now he wants to help millions.
Frustrated by the devastating deficits his patients couldn’t overcome, “I kept thinking to myself there has to be a better way,” says Barr, who is also Director of Neurology at Evansville-based Deaconess Health System.
“All of a sudden it hit me—all of the things we’re coaching these people to do involve one hand or the other,” says Barr, “but if you think how about we interact with the world with our hands, we’re always using two hands in some capacity.”
Barr says studies show that bi-manual, or two-handed, tasks are better at generating new connections in the brain than one-handed tasks. However, he says all of the two-handed tools on the market are complex and “extremely expensive,” such as robotics that the vast majority of patients don’t have access to.
Barr explains how basic hand function also has a ripple effect on other areas of health.
He set out to create an affordable and simplified device that would engage both hands, and the idea for the Polyform-1h was born. Holding the knob-and-paddle device with both hands, patients squeeze the knob for several seconds with the compromised hand, release their grip, then use the paddle to rotate the device with the opposite hand and repeat. The mission of the device is to harness the power of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s natural ability to rewire itself.
“Our brain is crisscrossed; the right side of our brain controls our left hand, and the left side of our brain controls our right hand,” says Barr. “That simple coordination of the grasping and releasing of one hand, and the turning of the device with the other hand, forces the brain to do a lot of crosstalk between the right and left half of the brain.”
Polyform-1h references the “poly,” or “many,” asymmetrical faces on the knob that make the compromised hand use a slightly different form each time the patient grips it.
“Many studies have shown that increased crosstalk is what jumpstarts and boosts the brain’s ability to generate new connections—that’s the neuroplasticity,” says Barr. “By doing that, we’re able to increase the functional levels [in the hand].”
Early in the device’s development, Barr recognized his lack of business acumen: “What do I know about injection molding? I’m a neurologist.” University of Southern Indiana’s Center for Applied Research helped “manifest [the device] from my mind into physical reality” and 3D printed the first prototypes. But when several manufacturers told him scaling up production of the device with his design and desired price point was nearly impossible, he connected with Catalyst, an Indianapolis-based product development firm.
“I can’t praise them enough; they helped me figure out…everything from A to Z,” says Barr. “I think without that kind of availability, dedication and patience, this project wouldn’t have happened.”
Barr is now selling his first batch of devices, manufactured at Catalyst, and is hoping for a second production run soon—a stepping stone toward his goal to scale the device for the masses.
“There’s nothing else at an accessible price point and widely available,” says Barr. “That’s why I wanted to make the [Polyform-1h] simple, able to be produced on a massive scale and something everybody can afford to use.”
Barr explains what’s next for Polyform-1h, including the possibility of expanding into the athletic market.
Each year, about 800,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke, underscoring Barr’s passion to widely produce the device. That mission was sparked by a single person; he gave one of his first prototypes to a family friend whose stroke recovery wasn’t progressing well, and the device helped him turn a corner in regaining use of his hand.
“He wrote me a note that said, ‘I finally have hope again,’ and tears came to my eyes,” says Barr. “Helping one person was tremendous—but when you multiply that by the amount of the people who need [the device], I decided right then, I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to get this out there.”