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Washington: A
wireless, musical glove -- improving sensation and motor skills --
could be a boon for people with paralyzing spinal cord injury
(SCI).
The gadget was successfully used by individuals with limited
feeling or movement in their hands due to tetraplegia, known also
as quadriplegia, resulting in partial or total loss of use of all
their limbs and torso.
Called Mobile Music Touch (MMT), the device looks like a workout
glove with a small box on the back, is used with a piano keyboard
and vibrates a person's fingers to indicate which keys to play.
While learning to play the instrument, several people with SCI
experienced improved sensation in their fingers.
Researchers at Georgia Tech and Atlanta's Shepherd Centre recently
completed a study focusing on people with weakness and sensory
loss due to SCI. "After our preliminary work in 2011, we suspected
that the glove would have positive results for people with SCI,"
said doctoral graduate Tanya Markow, the project's leader.
"But we were surprised by how much improvement they made in our
study. For example, after using the glove, some participants were
able to feel the texture of their bed sheets and clothes for the
first time since their injury," said Markow, according to a
Georgia Tech statement.
The eight-week project required study participants to practice
playing the piano for 30 minutes, three times a week. Half used
the MMT glove to practice; half did not.
They had sustained injury more than a year before the study, a
time frame when most rehab patients see very little improvement
for the remainder of their lives. Remarkably, the device was
primarily used while the participants were going about their daily
routines.
The MMT system works with a computer, MP3 player or smart phone.
Participants also wore the glove at home for two hours a day, five
days a week, feeling only the vibration (and not playing the
piano).
Previous studies showed that wearing the MMT system passively in
this manner helped participants learn songs faster and retain them
better. The researchers hoped that the passive wearing of the
device would also have rehabilitative effects.
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