REHABILITATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rehabilitation system (10) for a patient (22) suffering from a damaged muscle and/or nerve, said system (10) comprising: a stimulation unit (12) for stimulating the damaged muscle and/or nerve; a display (16) for displaying a representation (30) of an affected body part of the patient (22) in which the damaged muscle and/or nerve is arranged; and a control unit (14) for controlling the display (16) to display, concurrently with a stimulation provided by the stimulation unit (12), a visual cue (28, 28) depicted in the representation (30) of the affected body part, wherein said visual cue (28, 28) visually indicates the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve.

Claims

1. A rehabilitation system for a patient suffering from damaged muscles and/or nerves, said system comprising: a stimulation unit for stimulating a damaged muscle and/or nerve; a display for displaying a representation of an affected body part of the patient in which the damaged muscle and/or nerve is arranged; and a control unit for controlling the display to display, concurrently and congruently with a stimulation provided by the stimulation unit, a visual cue depicted in the representation of the affected body part, wherein said visual cue visually indicates the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve that is provided simultaneously to the stimulation and dynamically adapted based on an intensity and/or type of the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve.

2. The rehabilitation system according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation unit comprises an actuator for generating a tactile stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve.

3. The rehabilitation system according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation unit comprises a body attachment component for attaching the stimulation unit to the affected body part.

4. The rehabilitation system according to claim 3, wherein the body attachment component comprises one of a belt, strap, band, gear or harness that is configured to be worn on a limb of the patient.

5. The rehabilitation system according to claim 3, wherein the actuator is arranged at or embedded into the body attachment component.

6. The rehabilitation system according to claim 2, wherein the actuator comprises at least one vibration element for stimulating the damaged muscle and/or nerve by means of vibration.

7. The rehabilitation system according to claim 2, wherein the actuator comprises at least one thermo element for stimulating the damaged muscle and/or nerve by means of heat and/or cold.

8. The rehabilitation system according to claim 1, further comprising a sound generation unit for generating a sound, wherein the control unit is configured to control the sound generation unit to generate a sound, concurrently with the stimulation provided by the stimulation unit, wherein said sound indicates the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve in audible form.

9. (canceled)

10. The rehabilitation system according to claim 8, wherein the control unit is configured to control the sound generation unit to adapt the sound based on an intensity and/or type of stimulation provided by the stimulation unit.

11. The rehabilitation system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the display to display an avatar, wherein the avatar includes the representation of the affected body part.

12. The rehabilitation system according to claim 11, further comprising an input interface for receiving anatomical information of the patient, wherein the control unit is configured to control the display to adapt the avatar based on the anatomical information of the patient.

13. The rehabilitation system according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor unit with at least one electromyography (EMG) sensor for sensing a response of the damaged muscle and/or nerve to the stimulation provided by the stimulation unit.

14. The rehabilitation system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the display to display an indication of the response of the damaged muscle and/or nerve.

15. Method for rehabilitating a patient suffering from damaged muscles and/or nerves, said method comprising the steps of: stimulating a damaged muscle and/or nerve of the patient; displaying a representation of an affected body part of the patient in which the damaged muscle and/or nerve is arranged; and displaying a visual cue depicted in the representation of the affected body part concurrently and congruently to stimulating it, said visual cue indicating the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve that is provided simultaneously to the stimulation and dynamically adapted based on an intensity and/or type of the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. In the following drawings

[0040] FIG. 1A shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of a rehabilitation system according to the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 1B shows a schematic view of a stimulation unit of the rehabilitation system according to the first embodiment;

[0042] FIG. 2A shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of the rehabilitation system according to the present invention;

[0043] FIG. 2B shows a schematic view of the stimulation unit of the rehabilitation system according to the second embodiment; and

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a method for rehabilitating a patient according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0045] FIG. 1A shows a first embodiment of a rehabilitation system according to the present invention. The rehabilitation system is therein denoted in its entirety with reference numeral 10.

[0046] The rehabilitation system 10 comprises a stimulation unit 12, a control unit 14 and a display 16. An enlarged schematic view of an exemplary stimulation unit 12 is shown in FIG. 1B.

[0047] The stimulation unit 12 may according to the first embodiment comprise a body attachment component and a plurality of actuators 20a that are configured to generate a tactile stimulus for stimulating a damaged muscle and/or nerve of a patient 22. These actuators 20a may be arranged at the body attachment component 18 or may even be embedded into the body attachment component 18. The actuators 20a itself may be realized as vibration elements. The actuators 20a may thereto comprise one or more piezoelectric elements. However, it shall be noted that vibratory actuators other than piezoelectric elements may be used without leaving the scope of the present invention.

[0048] The body attachment component 18 is realized as a wearable component that may be worn on one of the limbs of the patient 22 i.e. on an arm or a leg of the patient 22. According to a preferred embodiment, said body attachment component 18 comprises one of a belt, strap, band, gear or harness that is made of an elastic material, such that the body attachment component 18 fits to an arm as well as to a leg of the patient 22, wherein the patient does not have to manually adapt its size.

[0049] The control unit 14 may be realized as a processor, microprocessor or computer having software stored thereon for controlling the display 16 according to the principle of the present invention, as this will be elucidated in detail further below.

[0050] The display 16 may comprise a screen, such as a monitor with a cathode ray tube, a LCD monitor, a plasma monitor or any other type of monitor. Alternatively, the display 16 may comprise a projector or beamer for projecting images on to a wall or screen.

[0051] The control unit 14 is connected to the stimulation unit 12 as well as to the display 16. The connection 24 between the stimulation unit 12 and the control unit 14 as well as the connection 26 between the control unit 14 and the display 16 may either be hard-wired or wireless (e.g. using a Bluetooth, an infrared, a WLAN or near field communication technique). Even though the control unit 14 is in FIG. 1A shown as a separate unit that is arranged remotely from the stimulation unit 12 and the display 16, parts of the control unit 14 or the whole control unit 14 may be integrated into or arranged at the stimulation unit 12 or the display 16.

[0052] The presented system 10 addresses patients 22 with a generally healthy neuro-activity necessary for limbic motion, but damaged muscles and/or muscles nerves. The system 10 should help such patients 22 to revitalize the muscle tonus and/or muscle nerves necessary for limbic motion.

[0053] A central feature of the system 10 according to the present invention is a congruent multi-sensory stimulation of the patient 22 that shall improve the rehabilitation process of the patient's muscles and/or nerves. In contrast to known systems of this type, the presented system 10 does not only stimulate the affected body part of the patient 22 by means of tactile stimuli, but concurrently provides a visual stimulation to the patient 22. The control unit 14 thereto controls the stimulation unit 12 and the display 16 in a congruent manner. The control unit 14 in other words controls the display 16 to display a visual cue 28 concurrently and congruently with a stimulation provided by the stimulation unit 12. This visual cue 28 is displayed together with a graphical representation 30 of the patient 22. The visual cue 28 visually indicates the stimulation of the damaged muscle and/or nerve to the patient 22.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the display 16 is configured to display an avatar that mirrors the anatomical appearance of the patient 22. However, in some cases it might also be sufficient to display only a graphical representation of the affected body part of the patient 22 on the display 16.

[0055] The idea of additionally indicating the stimulation in visual form on the display 16 is to stimulate the different senses of the patient 22 concurrently. Such a multi-sensorial stimulation is especially advantageous at the beginning of the recovery process when the patient 22 might not perceive the tactile stimuli provided by the stimulation unit 12. In this case, the patient 22 at least receives a visual indication on the display 16 that gives him/her a feedback regarding the provided stimulation. This may increase the user-adherence and motivation of the patient 22 as well as it may enhance the recovery process. If the patient 22 perceives the tactile stimulation provided by the stimulation unit 12 concurrently with the visual stimulation provided by the visual cues 28 displayed on the display 16, the brain of the patient 22 may recognize a correlation that may enhance the recovery of the affected muscle and/or nerve.

[0056] The control unit 14 is preferably configured to adapt the appearance (e.g. the shape and/or size) of the visual cue 28 depending on the type and/or intensity of the tactile stimuli provided by the actuators 20a. The visual cue 28 may include one or more graphical symbols or pictograms which change dynamically depending on the stimuli provided by the actuators 20a. The visual cues may also include video cues, such as smaller video sequences. These video cues may, for example, be shown with the same fade-in frequency as the frequency of the tactile stimuli provided by the actuators 20a. If the stimuli provided by the actuators 20a get stronger, the visual cues 28 may get larger.

[0057] FIGS. 2A and 2B show a second embodiment of the system 10 according to the present invention. Same or similar components are therein denoted by the same reference numerals as before. These already presented components shall not be explained again.

[0058] Additionally to the components of the system 10 according to the first embodiment, the system 10 according to the second embodiment further comprises a sound generation unit 32 and an input interface 34. Both the sound generation unit 32 and the input interface 34 are connected to the control unit 14. The connection 36 between the sound generation unit 32 and the control unit 14 as well as the connection 38 between the input interface 34 and the control unit 14 may again be realized either as a hard-wired connection or as a wireless connection.

[0059] The sound generation unit 32 may, for example, comprise a loudspeaker or any other type of device for generating sounds. The input interface 34 may comprise a keyboard, mouse, an USB-interface or any other type of data interface that allows a user to input or transfer data to the control unit 14. The input interface 34 may also be used to adapt the settings of the control unit 14.

[0060] The addition of the sound generation unit 32 enables to produce sounds congruently with the tactile stimuli provided by the stimulation unit 12 and the visual cues 28 displayed on the display 16. The sensorial stimulation is thus expanded to one additional stimulus (an audible stimulus). The control unit 14 is thereto configured to control the sound generation unit 32 to produce sounds that are adapted to the stimuli provided by the stimulation unit 12. The produced sounds are preferably adapted based on an intensity and/or type of stimulation provided by the stimulation unit 12.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 2B, the stimulation unit 12 may furthermore comprise one or more thermo elements 20b for stimulating the damaged muscle and/or nerve by means of heat and/or cold. The control unit 14 may be configured to control the display 16 to display additional visual cues 28 within the representation 30 of the patient 22 in order to visually indicate the stimuli provided by the thermo elements 20b. These visual cues 28 are also preferably adapted to the intensity and/or type of the stimuli provided by the thermo elements 20b. In case the control unit controls the stimulation unit 12/the thermo elements 20b to render warm temperature stimuli, this stimulation may be augmented by glowing red visual cues 28 depicted in the visual representation 30 of the patient 22 within the region of the affected body part. In case the control unit 14 controls the stimulation unit 12/the thermo elements 20b to render cold temperature stimuli, this stimulation may be augmented by blue visual cues 28 depicted in the representation 30 of the patient 22 within the region of the affected body part. Various degrees of temperature may be depicted by various intensity degrees of red and/or blue.

[0062] The stimulation unit 12 may furthermore comprise one or more EMG sensors 40 for sensing a response of the stimulated muscle and/or nerve to the stimulation provided by the stimulation unit 12. Sensing the response of the stimulated muscle and/or nerve by means of EMG sensors 40 allows displaying an indication of said muscle and/or nerve response on the display 16. This visualization may again be controlled by the control unit 14. The patient 12 may, for example, be shown a graphical symbol or graphical signal evaluation indicating the sensorial response of the damaged muscle and/or nerve to the stimulation via the display 16. The display 16 may also graphically show information regarding the tendency and/or prospects of the muscle and/or nerve recovery.

[0063] In order to provide an even more realistic feeling for the patient 22, the graphical representation 30 shown on the display 16 may include an avatar, wherein the avatar mirrors the patient 22 in a graphical form as realistic as possible. The input interface 34 may, for example, be used to input a picture of the patient 22, a height of the patient 22, a weight of the patient 22 and/or an indication of the built of the patient 22 (lean/medium/heavy), such that the avatar shown on the display 16 resembles the patient 22 as close as possible. In other words, the control unit 14 may be configured to control the display 16 to adapt the graphical representation 30 based on the anatomical information of the patient 22 that are received via the input interface 34.

[0064] FIG. 3 summarizes the method according to the present invention in a schematic manner. In a first step 101, the damaged muscles and/or nerves of the patient 22 are stimulated by means of a tactile stimulation. In a second step, a representation of the affected body part of the patient 22 in which the damaged muscle and/or nerve is arranged is displayed on a display 16. In a third step 103, a visual cue 28 is displayed on the representation of the affected body part concurrently to the provided tactile stimulation. Said visual cue 28, 28 visually indicates the stimulation of the damaged muscles and/or nerves and therefore provide a visual stimulation that is provided to the patient in a congruent manner to the tactile stimulation. As explained before, this multi-sensorial stimulation may be furthermore enhanced by congruently generating sounds that are adapted to the tactile stimuli.

[0065] It shall be noted that FIG. 3 shows the presented method for simplicity reasons in a sequential form. However, steps 101-103 are in practice carried out concurrently.

[0066] Lastly, it shall be also noted that the components of the second embodiment of the system 10, which were not elucidated with reference to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, do not necessarily have to be provided all together. For example, the sound generation unit 32 and the input interface 34 are independent parts. The system 10 may therefore also comprise only one of these components. The stimulation unit 12 may similarly comprise only one of the vibratory actuators 20a and the thermo elements 20b.

[0067] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

[0068] In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0069] Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.