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One of the biggest challenges for survivors is consistently performing the intensive physical therapy needed to regain movement.. especially for those dealing with hemiparesis, simple upper-limb exercises can feel impossible or deeply discouraging. Enter a brilliant innovation that’s changing the game: the Powered Rehab Skateboard, developed by Prof. Kenneth Fong and team at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The device is a sophisticated, motorised platform engineered specifically for the more-affected upper limb: it gently supports the arm and guides it through precise, repetitive therapeutic motions.

The core of the device is a wheeled, end-effector-based robotic system (a ‘skateboard’ on a table) which supports the patient’s arm and guides it through specific movement patterns (e.g., left-right, forward-backward, circular, and figure-eight motions)

It features an integrated torque sensor that detects the user’s active force in real-time. This allows the device to measure how much effort the patient is putting into the exercise. It also  uses a control system that interprets the sensor data to adjust the level of assistance dynamically. This system offers multiple operational modes: passive, assistive and resistive.

A machine learning algorithm (in advanced versions of the related research) captures activity data and adapts the therapy in real-time, ensuring optimal challenge and support for the individual’s specific stage of recovery. For home use, the device includes a micro edge detection sensor that triggers an alarm and stops operation if it approaches the edge of a table, preventing accidents.

It’s primarily an academic and clinical research innovation at this stage, so not yet a commercial product you can simply buy from a medical supply store today. To find out when it might become commercially available for UK stroke survivors, the best course of action is to follow updates here at ARNI – we’ll find out and let you know when we hear official announcements from Prof. Kenneth Fong’s research team. While we can’t buy it off the shelf yet, the promise it holds for home-based recovery is undeniable.

Question for you? What does 3-D printing and predicting if you’re going to have a stroke got to do with each other? Can you guess?

Well – here’s ARNI Stroke Rehab UK’s prediction of the very near future in a hospital near you: you go to have a CT scan, a technician rapidly 3-D prints your blood vessel model, tests your blood response and then uses AI to predict your stroke risk years in advance.

Why do we reckon this? Because researchers at the University of Sydney have just developed a groundbreaking new 3D printing technique that can generate anatomically accurate replicas of blood vessels in a mere two hours. That’s down from 10 hours using older methods! This device represents a significant leap forward in biomedical engineering.

The challenge of understanding and treating stroke is fundamentally tied to the incredibly complex architecture of the human vascular system. Replicating the intricate network of blood vessels to study how clots form and behave has long been a time-consuming and often imprecise process, frequently relying on animal models which don’t perfectly mimic human anatomy.

By utilising the specific CT scans of actual stroke patients, the researchers can create incredibly realistic models that mimic the exact fluid dynamics and anatomical quirks of a real person’s vascular system. These ‘vessel twins’ are not just static models; they are functional and allow scientists to literally watch a blood clot form under a microscope in a highly realistic environment.

The implications of this speed and accuracy are vast for stroke research. The models are already being used to study the exact mechanisms of blood clot formation, helping researchers understand why some individuals are more prone to certain types of strokes. More importantly, this technology provides an ethical and efficient alternative to traditional methods. Researchers can now trial new clot-busting drugs, test different surgical devices and experiment with medicine approaches on these replicas without relying on animal testing. This accelerates the research timeline, reduces costs and provides more accurate data relevant to human patients.

When we think about stroke, our minds immediately go to the brain: damage, recovery, rehabilitation. But the reality is that a stroke is a whole-body event, triggering complex physiological changes far beyond the site of the injury. For many stroke survivors, this manifests in a surprising and often frustrating way: gastro-intestinal problems. Now, thanks to groundbreaking research from scientists at The University of Manchester, we are beginning to understand why this happens and what we might be able to do about it.

The research, just published in Brain, Behaviour and Immunity, adds to the emerging idea of the ‘gut-brain axis’ by shedding new light on the intricate connection between the brain and the gut, specifically focusing on the gut’s immune system. What the Manchester team discovered is that a stroke doesn’t just cause immune suppression; it actively triggers a disruption in the delicate balance of immune responses within the digestive tract. Think of your gut lining as a highly secure barrier; after a stroke, this barrier can become ‘leaky’ and inflamed due to these immune system changes.

This ‘leaky gut’ and the ensuing inflammation are what contribute directly to the various gastro-intestinal issues that survivors often face, from digestive discomfort and motility issues to a heightened risk of infection. It’s a vicious cycle where a brain event affects the gut, and the gut inflammation can, in turn, impede overall recovery.

In the past, these gastrointestinal issues were often treated symptomatically without fully grasping the root cause linked to the initial neurological event. Now that scientists have a clearer picture of the immune system’s role, it opens the door to new therapeutic strategies; by specifically targeting these immune changes in the gut, doctors might be able to prevent these secondary health complications from occurring in the first place, or manage them much more effectively.

This innovative research seems to underscore the importance of a holistic approach to stroke recovery, focusing not just on the brain and limbs but on overall systemic health.

Our NHS works incredibly hard, but logistical challenges, particularly in getting patients to specialist centres for immediate CT or MRI scans, can sometimes lead to crucial delays. This is why the development of AI-Stroke, a revolutionary initiative aiming to turn any smartphone into a rapid stroke-assessment tool, shows promise for future UK stroke survivors and their families.

AI-Stroke’s core function is simple yet impactful: a paramedic in an ambulance, a triage nurse in a busy A&E, or perhaps eventually even a trained professional in a remote GP surgery, can record a 30-second video of a person suspected of having a stroke. The sophisticated AI then immediately analyses that footage. It scrutinises key indicators of stroke signs that align with the vital F.A.S.T. test: facial symmetry and within seconds, provides an alert and assessment score.

By providing an instant, reliable diagnostic aid right at the bedside or in the ambulance, AI-Stroke could drastically cut down the time from symptom onset to appropriate treatment. It allows for immediate communication with specialist stroke teams, preparing them for the patient’s arrival and potentially allowing for faster decision-making regarding life-saving interventions like clot-busting medication or mechanical thrombectomy.

This innovation, which today announced the completion of a US$4.6 million seed round, could drastically reduce diagnosis time and bring expert assessment capabilities to ambulances, rural areas or busy ERs, bringing expert-level diagnostic support into the hands of frontline healthcare workers everywhere. By shortening diagnostic pathways and ensuring the right patients get to the right specialist centre faster, AI-Stroke could be a genuine lifesaver for countless future UK stroke survivors.

Post-stroke pain is a debilitating reality for a significant number of stroke survivors. Whether it manifests as central post-stroke pain (a chronic, often severe neuropathic pain) other musculoskeletal issues, managing it effectively without impairing movement or cognitive function has been a persistent clinical challenge.

The reliance on broad-acting pain medications often comes with undesirable side effects like drowsiness or motor impairment. However, a recent and highly promising neuroscientific discovery offers a novel and potentially game-changing solution. Researchers have identified a specific mechanism for pain activation after stroke, which could lead to far more targeted and effective relief.

The key to this discovery lies in a specific enzyme that neurons release from outside the cell: the Vertebrate Lonesome Kinase, or VLK. This enzyme was found to be a critical player in activating pain signalling pathways that are often heightened after a neurological event like a stroke. The mechanism is intricate but the implications are straightforward: VLK essentially acts as a switch, turning on or ramping up the pain signals that contribute to chronic discomfort.

The truly exciting aspect of this finding is the specificity of the VLK enzyme’s role. In preclinical studies, researchers demonstrated that by removing or blocking this particular enzyme, they could effectively dull post-stroke pain in the affected areas

Crucially, and what sets this potential therapy apart from many existing pain management options, this reduction in pain did not come at the cost of normal motor function or sensation. The ability to manage pain without broad systemic side effects is a massive leap forward in improving the quality of life for stroke survivors.

This research points toward a future where pain management can be highly targeted, focusing precisely on the mechanisms of stroke-induced pain without the trade-offs often associated with current medications. It opens the door for a new class of analgesics that work on blocking the VLK pathway. While this is still a foundational scientific discovery and not yet a developed treatment, it provides immense hope that more effective and less impairing pain relief is on the horizon for the millions of people worldwide living with chronic post-stroke pain…

The core challenge in treating an acute ischemic stroke is a race against time and geography. Clot-busting drugs must reach the affected brain vessel quickly to be effective, but a major obstacle is the potential for severe side effects, primarily internal bleeding, which limits the dosage we can safely administer throughout the entire body. However… a revolutionary technological advancement from researchers at ETH Zurich is set to change this paradigm. Scientists there have developed a pioneering magnet-controlled microrobot system that can swim through blood vessels and deliver medication precisely to the site of a stroke-related clot.

The technology is as futuristic as it sounds. The ‘microrobots’ are, in fact, tiny, spherical capsules. The innovative design of these capsules is key to their function. They possess a dissolvable gel shell that encases both the crucial therapeutic medication and tiny magnetic nanoparticles. To track them, they also contain a contrast agent visible under X-ray imaging.

The genius of this system lies in its guidance mechanism. Doctors can use an external magnetic field to steer these micro-swimmers through the body’s complex and fast-flowing network of blood vessels. Researchers have demonstrated remarkable precision in lab tests, successfully guiding the capsules with a success rate of over 95%, even against the force of blood flow. This steerability allows specialists to navigate the tricky vascular maze of the brain to the exact location of the clot.

Once the microrobot reaches its destination, the final step is a precise release of the drug. The external magnetic field is adjusted to a high frequency, which causes the magnetic nanoparticles inside the capsule to heat up. This heat is enough to dissolve the gel shell, releasing the concentrated medication directly onto the clot. This highly localised delivery method ensures maximum effectiveness against the blockage while minimising the risk of systemic side effects, such as dangerous internal bleeding.

The potential impact of this technology is vast. It opens the door to treating difficult-to-reach clots in the brain and could make current stroke therapies significantly safer and more effective. The ETH Zurich team has already conducted successful trials in realistic artificial vessel models and large animals like pigs and sheep, with plans to move to human clinical trials as soon as possible.

A world-first procedure in the field of stroke treatment has just taken place that leverages cutting-edge robotics. In a groundbreaking demonstration of what telemedicine can achieve, doctors have just successfully performed an entire remote thrombectomy using a sophisticated robotic system from a company called Sentante. This achievement fundamentally redefines the ‘golden hour’ for stroke treatment…

The procedure itself was a technological marvel. Specialists situated at a control console in Florida successfully operated on a human cadaver located more than 4,000 miles away in Dundee. The Sentante robotic system, positioned at the ‘bedside’,  perfectly mirrored the surgeon’s nuanced hand movements in real-time, all while a reliable network connection ensured latency was minimal and essentially imperceptible to the surgeon.

The genius of the Sentante system goes beyond simple remote control. It incorporates vital haptic feedback, a sensory experience that allows the operating surgeon in Florida to actually feel the resistance and delicate manipulation of the catheters and blood vessels as if they were physically present in the room in Scotland. This feedback is critical as it provides the precision and safety required for such a delicate operation where the stakes are life or death.

This breakthrough is far more than a technical stunt btw; it is a beacon of hope for improving global stroke outcomes. The reality today is that only a small fraction of stroke patients receive time-sensitive interventions like thrombectomy because they must arrive at a specialist neurovascular center within a very narrow window of time. This leaves countless individuals in rural, remote, or underserved urban areas without access to the best possible care. The Sentante system promises to democratise this expertise.

By enabling a single expert surgeon at a central hub to treat patients scattered across a wide region via robotic systems, this technology could save countless lives and significantly reduce the burden of long-term stroke disability. The team behind the innovation hopes to advance to formal clinical trials with live patients within the next year. While there are still regulatory hurdles to overcome and safety to confirm, this world-first procedure is a revolutionary step forward, proving that with the right technology, expert stroke care can be delivered anywhere in the world, whenever it is needed most.

In the world of stroke recovery and prevention, we live by a singular, urgent truth: time is brain. Every minute lost after a stroke onset results in the irreversible death of millions of neurons. While advancements in treatment have been significant, a critical bottleneck has always been the speed of diagnosis and differentiation between stroke types (ischemic or haemorrhagic), which require entirely different and often opposing, treatments.

Traditional diagnostic tools, the CT and MRI scanners, are bulky, expensive and require a patient to be moved to a specific location within a hospital, a process that inherently introduces delays. This is where a remarkable new piece of technology offers a powerful glimmer of hope: the emu portable brain scanner. These scanners are non-invasive devices that use ultra-high frequency radiofrequency (RF) scanning technology, combined with advanced AI-based algorithms, to assist in point-of-care stroke diagnosis.

Developed by the innovative tech company EMVision, the ‘emu’ (a clever acronym and a nod to the fast Australian bird, short for ‘electromagnetic unit’) is designed to bring the diagnostic power directly to the patient’s bedside. The tech uses safe, ultra-high frequency radio signals, similar to how a mobile phone communicates, to quickly image the brain. There is no ionizing radiation, making it safe for repeated use. The device itself is a lightweight, helmet-like apparatus that can be wheeled into an ambulance, a patient’s room, or an ICU, fundamentally changing the logistics of emergency stroke diagnosis.

The real brilliance of the emu lies in its ability to rapidly perform two crucial tasks: first, detecting the presence of a stroke, and second, classifying its type. In an emergency scenario, this information is vital. A patient with a blockage needs clot-busting medication or mechanical thrombectomy, while a patient with a bleed needs immediate stabilisation and often surgery. Administering the wrong treatment is catastrophic. The emu aims to provide this critical differential diagnosis within minutes, potentially cutting hours off the current standard of care timeline.

The company has started a pivotal trial earlier this year across several sites in the US and Australia to validate the device’s performance against traditional imaging methods and to secure necessary regulatory approvals. While still an investigational device, the potential for its impact is pretty staggering. It promises to democratise stroke diagnostics, making high-level emergency care accessible to patients in rural and regional areas, or those too unstable to be moved to a large imaging suite.

For many stroke survivors, the journey to regain independence is a challenging road marked by the profound difficulties of upper limb impairment. Weakness or paralysis in the arms and hands can strip away the ability to perform everyday tasks we once took for granted, from carrying groceries to holding a toothbrush. Traditional rehabilitation has its limits, but a new era of assistive technology is dawning, offering tangible hope and a path to restored function through a revolutionary device called the VilPower.

Developed by the innovative Norwegian company Vilje Bionics, ARNI Stroke Rehab UK reveals today that a pioneering company has produced the world’s first entire arm exoskeleton (VilPower).

Until now, exoskeletons for those with paretic arms covered only up to the elbow and used sensors on the skin but Vilje Bionic’s prototype uses a novel sensor technology that doesn’t need skin contact.  Unlike other devices that might focus only on the hand or the elbow, the VilPower assists movements for the shoulder, elbow and hand. This full-arm support can enables users to perform a wide range of natural, complex motions crucial for activities of daily living.

The technology behind the VilPower is incredibly intuitive. It leverages a novel sensor system that detects a user’s minute muscle signals and residual movements, effectively interpreting their intention to move their arm. It then amplifies this intention into physical movement, allowing individuals with significant impairments to regain control. This ‘thought-activated’ operation is key to not just assisting movement but also encouraging neuroplasticity.

By engaging the user’s intent and facilitating the completion of a movement, the device provides the intensive, repetitive practice needed to reinforce new neural pathways and achieve genuine long-term recovery gains. Users in trials have reported significant improvements in their ability to perform tasks they thought were lost to them, such as opening doors or cutting vegetables.

So, where does the VilPower stand in terms of availability? The device has been in active development and has undergone trials with over 40 patients so far. These trials have been crucial in refining the device, and feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive. The company recently secured significant funding to facilitate the final steps before a full-scale commercial launch.

In terms of a release date, the developers are preparing for a commercial launch within the next four to six months, with an initial focus on the Norwegian market. The development of the associated app and compliance with medical device regulations (MDR) have been significant parts of the process to ensure the product meets all necessary standards. While a specific date for international availability beyond Norway is not yet public knowledge, the rapid progress indicates that the device may become available in other regions in the near future. The potential for the VilPower to enhance the independence and quality of life for stroke survivors globally is immense, and its impending launch marks a truly exciting moment in rehabilitation technology.

Readers of these news pages who are professionals in stroke or stroke survivors and their loved ones know the mantra ‘time is brain’ better than anyone. Rapid intervention is crucial to minimise damage, but current treatments have a limited time window, so researchers have been working on a ground-breaking new drug treatment for stroke survivors to widen this window that actually induces hypothermia; basically putting the brain in a state of suspended animation or hibernation to protect it from damage.

Therapeutic hypothermia, or controlled cooling of the body, is a powerful neuroprotective strategy that has shown immense promise in preclinical studies for reducing damage after an ischemic stroke. The science is compelling: lowering the brain’s temperature slows down its metabolic rate, reduces inflammation, and prevents a cascade of cellular death. The major challenge, however, has been practical clinical application. Traditional physical cooling methods, such as cooling blankets or intravascular catheters, are often slow, inefficient and can cause adverse side effects like severe shivering, which is counterproductive as it generates heat and stress.

This is where the new pharmacological approach changes the game. Researchers are focusing on creating drugs that can act directly on the brain’s ‘thermostat’ in the hypothalamus to lower the core body temperature in a controlled and rapid manner, critically without triggering the body’s natural shivering response.

One of the most promising compounds studied in this field is known as ABS-201 (also referred to as HPI-201), a novel neurotensin receptor 1 (NTR1) agonist. This drug is designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and target specific receptors, effectively ‘resetting’ the body’s temperature set point. Preclinical studies have shown that a single dose of ABS-201 can reduce body and brain temperature by 2–5°C within minutes, a level of mild to moderate hypothermia that offers significant neuroprotection. The potential impact is huge: animal studies have demonstrated up to a 30-40% reduction in infarct volume (the area of dead tissue) and improved long-term functional recovery when the treatment is administered even hours after stroke onset.

This pioneering research has been published in esteemed academic journals such as Stroke and PLOS Medicine. Key researchers in the field, including teams from institutions like the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and others in Australia and Europe, have been instrumental in these findings. Their work suggests that a pharmacological approach could be a powerful stand-alone treatment or a synergistic aid to current physical cooling methods, making hypothermia therapy much more feasible for a wider range of patients in due course.