New Device Helps Stroke Patients Regain Movement
An English startup created a device that helps to rewire the brains of stroke patients.
There is good news for people who have had strokes. A new English startup has found a way to help people who have suffered from a stroke to increase their mobility with nothing more than a small device that can be strapped to their limbs. This could truly improve the lives of so many people.
Rewiring the brain
The startup, called Neubond, according to the video from Reuters, has done the impossible. Using a small device wrapped around the arm of stroke patient Lisa Vincent, the researchers were able to revive the mobility of her rigid and immobile left arm. Vincent’s arm was nearly paralyzed by a stroke four years before she took part in Neubond’s study. Only a few months after beginning the treatment, she was able to hold her infant grandchild, something she had not been able to do before.
So how does it work?
The flexible, wearable cuff is embedded with electrodes that detect when a muscle is activated. Using that information, it stimulates the nerves, thus improving the connection between the nerve and the brain.
“It calculates which muscle is becoming active to then trigger a stimulation within the same muscle, which first will enhance the contraction, and second, it will be like a message that you will send back to the brain, and it will rewire the activity and the connections between the brain and the muscle. So then you regain mobility,” Patrick Sagastegui, one of Neubond’s co-founders told Reuters.
Obviously, this has made a splash. The startup was a finalist in the Imperial’s 2024 Venture Capitalist Challenge, reported Imperial. This competition has worked as a launchpad for many startups.
Next Steps
The study Vincent participated in was quite successful, and was published in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in November 2023. In January 2025, according to Reuters, Neubond is expected to start a larger scale trial of the device with 20 patients at Charing Cross Hospital in London.
The founders also hope to start the regulatory process so that they can ensure that the device meets medical standards and can become certified. In the future, the plan is to start partnering with private clinics and bring the product to market.
The Neubond device is a testament to human ingenuity, but also the incredible ability of the body to heal itself. It is truly amazing to think that no matter a person’s age, their brain is still able to build new connections and find ways to overcome injury and deficiencies.
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