King's University tests stimulation therapy for stroke patients

BBC

Two years ago, Michael Kors was a vibrant, healthy 62-year-old delivery worker who liked to stay busy on his family's farm.

But things changed one night when he suffered a stroke that left him with problems on his left side.

We are with him at King's College Hospital in Camberwell, south London. He is coming in to see if he will be accepted into a new clinical trial.

If so, doctors will aim to help him use his arms and hands more.

A lot of tests are being done here at the hospital to see how much he can move his left arm and hand.

“It's not that I wasn't active. I just had a stroke that woke me up in the middle of the night. It's simple,” Michael says.

“I'm completely confused. I can't continue in my old role. I've always been a very practical person and an outdoors person, but the stroke has completely limited that. ” he added.

Occupational therapist Eva Coughlan is here to test whether Michael is suitable for the exam.

“Raise your arms,” she told him. “Turn your wrist. Grab the paper while I try to get it.”

If approved in court, they would be given a device similar to a hearing aid.

It will be placed in his ear and fitted with a device that sends electrical signals to the vagus nerve, which carries signals between the brain, heart and digestive system.

It is hoped that the device will help him move his arms and hands more easily.

In a similar type of program in the United States, patients were surgically implanted with a similar device.

The treatment was then carried out under the supervision of a hospital therapist, who had to initiate the stimulation.

This new technology requires only a portable device, with patients wearing a watch-like monitor connected to their cell phone to collect results.

Used when patients undergo rehabilitation. The trial here in the UK is to see if it works as well as the US plan, potentially saving patients from having to undergo surgery.

“This is a very interesting trial,” Michael says. “Even if I couldn't be a part of it, I think this is something that other people with stroke can benefit from.

“If I am accepted, I hope that I can use what I have learned to benefit others in the future.”

“It's exciting.”

The trial at King College Hospital is part of a wider project being carried out by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and the University of Sheffield.

Here in London, it is led by consultant occupational therapist Bill Tertis. He said early research has shown that when people receive stimulation from the device, the rehabilitation process can be sped up.

“We think this is a really beneficial addition to the care we provide for our patients,” he said.

Now Bill and his team are trying to recruit more people into the study, seeking patients who had a stroke six to 10 years ago.

“We don't know whether treatments using this mechanism will be effective, and we don't know which specific subgroups they will be effective in,” he said.

He added: “It's exciting. We feel it has great potential, but we're testing it to see if it actually happens.”

That's good news for Michael.

After about an hour of testing, he was accepted into the trial, and when he got home he got to do a lot of practice with his new device every day.

He left laughing. “I don’t know what I passed… but I passed something!”

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