Digital therapy toy for stroke patients lights up for a game of whack-a-mole

For stroke survivors, relearning to use one's arms and fingers can be a long process with tedious exercises, while they get back on the road to normal life.

Research suggests that the process can be more effective if you include a fun element to it, and new digital versions of traditional rehabilitation toys are attempting to breathe fresh life into the process.

Neofect, a medtech startup from South Korea, has been developing tech therapy devices targeted to motivate the patient.

SEE ALSO: Toyota's new robotic leg brace will help stroke patients walk again

One of its new devices is a pegboard that lights up, and can accommodate new games with software updates. One of the pegboard’s programs, for example, is a whack-a-mole game that lights up a peg for several seconds, depending on the level, directing the user to place the peg before the light changes position. 

Image: neofect

Check it out in action:

Pegboards are a commonly used therapy procedure for patients suffering from neurological trauma such as a stroke, spinal cord injury or brain injury. 

Naturally, with all its bells and whistles, Neofect's spiffy version doesn't come cheap, at $2,000. An analog board ranges from just $50 for a basic one, to $400 for larger and more complex versions.

Image: neofect

Still, Neofect's value proposition is that it's essentially expandable, because it's digital, said Scott Kim, CEO of San Francisco-based Neofect USA.

Neofect's base board can detect different peg shape frames over it, and will automatically launch the matching program.

Image: neofect

The board will also measure progress, aiming to offer the clinician a more granular way of tracking a patient.

The Rapael pegboard is already FCC-verified, but still patent pending and vying for a clinical trial, with only subjective anecdotes so far to tell them of the progress, he notes.

Before the pegboard: a smart glove

Neofect's previous experience with a smart glove has been encouraging.

In a clinical trial for its FDA-registered Rapael Smart Glove, scientists in South Korea found that that improvements in arm mobility performance were “significantly greater” in patients who underwent the gamified therapy, versus conventional therapy. 

Image: Neofect

Lauren Sheehan, an occupational therapist who joined the company as clinical manager this year, said there are few fun, engaging, data-driven options for fine motor and hand training in the clinical setting. 

Of all of the advances in technology that have given us robotic exoskeletons, assistive treadmills and robotic training devices, fine motor and advanced hand training remains fairly simple in clinical terms, in comparison, she says.

And within the next year, Neofect wants to build in user profiles in the board, allowing patients to extract more detail statistics for social sharing, and multiplayer competitions, Kim noted.  

Since the company’s launch in South Korea in 2010, the 11.8 billion won ($10.4 million) funded startup expanded in 2015 into the U.S., where it has latched on to the booming market for home therapy for people who cannot afford or attend regular rehab sessions. 

Neofect currently offers its flagship Rapael glove for home use through monthly rentals, and the pegboard is also usable at home.

Next up: A glove that stimulates movement

Next year, the company plans to launch a device it developed in collaboration with Seoul National University for spinal cord injury patients. 

Project-named Exo Glove, the company aims for its assistive device to help patients with minimal range of motion to move their hand using electric stimulations.

“If you’re thinking from patients’ perspective, it just sucks,” said Kim. 

Kim was born with spina bifida, which can affect one’s ability to walk and requires rehabilitation therapy to improve range of motion. 

“I’ve been in their shoes and it’s horrible not being able to do something, while at the same time you get stared at by the public," he said.

Elaine Ramirez is a reporter based in Seoul, South Korea.

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