Products

Able-X: Accelerate Stroke Recovery

The Able-X is a lightweight air mouse and handlebar together with a series of five computer exercises designed to help improve arm movements and cognitive skills.

The Able-X allows the good arm to guide the lesser functional arm. The exercises are designed in increasing levels of difficulty requiring greater physical movement, increasing dexterity and concentration.

Able-X is suitable for children and adults with a wide range of neurological and muscular- skeletal impairment - for example people affected by:

• stroke
• traumatic brain injury
• balance disorders
• co-ordination dysfunction.

Trials of the Able-X system conducted at the Otago School of Medicine (published July 2009) have shown a significant improvement in upper limb functioning (Fugl-Meyer Assessment) after less than 10 hours of exercise. (Download the publication.)

Able-X’s support system and exercise games provide enjoyable active stimulation. Benefits that users have demonstrated include improvements to arm mobility and concentration, improvements in body balance when used in the standing position and improved fine movements of affected arms and fingers.

View contents of package

The Able-X can be used by people over a wide range of impairments. At a minimum the user needs one functioning arm.

 Download the brochure

Able-Force Hand-held Dynamometer

The Able-Force kinetic hand-held dynamometer enables medical therapists to measure force and angle across the range of motion in patients’ joints.

The Able-Force dynamometer assesses muscle strength across the range of motion with: speed, consistency, repeatability, objectivity

Features include:

• Electronic recording of patient rehabilitation over time
• Display of results in clear graphical or digital form
• Portability and ease-of-use
• Standardised and consistent measurements for patient records
• Training tool for therapists
• In-built memory which stores recordings on the patient database and shows trends over time

 Download the brochure

Giant Computer Mouse and Games

A simple innovative system could change the lives of thousands of people with upper limb disorders. The system is designed to be an enjoyable, therapeutic alternative to help restore forearm and finger mobility. 

A paper on “An affordable, computerized, table-based exercise system for stroke survivors”, Marcus King, Leigh Hale, Anna Pekkari & Martin Persson can be found at http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1600000/1592717/a14-king.pdf

Designed for:

• people with upper limb disorders
• people with cognitive movement disorders
• patients whose arms are gravity impaired
• those that require finger extension exercise
• affordability

The benefits of the system to to the users are:

• validated using credible clinical trials
• promotes push, pull and lateral arm movement
• promotes finger extension
• enjoyable and comfortable to use
• user friendly
• games are graded from easy to challenging
• provides performance feedback to therapist and patient
• may provide cognitive and exercise benefits
• can be used independently of therapist (preferably under medical oversight)

Orthotic Glove

The orthotic glove dramatically augments natural key grip power (tenodesis) to provide true power (2.3 N or 230 grams without orthotic glove as compared to 5.4N or 540 grams with orthotic glove). The device is:

• able to increase pinch grip by 300% and hand function by 100%
• wrist driven

  

• constructed with soft material
• easily donned and removed independently
• washable
• adjustable

The glove harnesses the natural tenodesis movement and uses a nylon filament to pull the thumb into positive contact with the index finger during wrist extension.

Trials on patients who met the usage criteria for the glove, and adhered to the minimum usage requirements improved their average hand function scores as follows:

Additional information can be found in paper by M King, A Nicholls and F Collins entitled ‘A wrist extension operated lateral key-pinch grip orthosis for people with tetraplegia”, July 2008.

The Orthotic glove is available for either the left hand or the right hand in four sizes: small, medium, large and extra large 

Explore full use on tetraplegia-pinchgrip.wmv at www.youtube.com and download the brochure below.

Download the brochure

Activities for Daily Living kit

Available soon

Patents