MusicGlove: World’s First FDA Approved Music-Based Hand Rehabilitation Device

When it comes to therapy for stroke patients, we picture mundane, boring exercises that they have to perform for months, and sometimes years. How great would it be to add excitement and fun  to the entire regime so that patients are actually motivated (and even look forward) to continue to exercise and feel better?

MusicGlove does just that. A glove that lets you play a Guitar Hero like game on a tablet or a bigger screen, it is meant for people who have survived strokes or have other neurological and muscular injuries that limit the movement of their hands. A study has shown that patients who use MusicGlove for therapy show significant improvement in their hand movements only after two weeks as compared to people who go through traditional therapy. It requires minimal interaction with the  therapist and the patient can “play” it whenever they want to.

Plus, there’s music!

MusicGlove is priced at $1,149 (or $99 for 12 months) for the Home Version (comes with a 10 inch tablet) and $4,199 for the Clinic Version (comes with a 21 inch monitor.

Watch the video to see it in action and read the following press release to know more about MusicGlove – what it does, how it does it, and where to order it from.

(Irvine, CA) – October 23, 2014 – Flint Rehabilitation Devices today introduced MusicGlove™ (#musicglove), the world’s first FDA approved, clinically validated hand rehabilitation (#rehabilitation) device that uses music and gaming to make therapy (#therapy) fun and effective for the over six million people with stroke or other neurological or muscular injuries. The device, which helps increase users’ attention span, neuropsychological scores, cognitive functioning, well-being and recovery, empowers them to regain their independence by delivering a motivating therapy regimen that significantly restores hand function in just two weeks (Friedman et al., 2014). MusicGlove is now available for purchase at www.musicglove.com/shop/ in both a Home Version from $1,149.00USD (or $99.00USD/month for twelve months) and a Clinic Version from $4,199.00USD.

The device features a sensorized glove that tracks a user’s hand movements. This allows them to play the included therapy-based game by completing specific movements along with scrolling notes displayed on a touch screen console that are timed to the rhythm of upbeat songs (similar to Guitar Hero). These movements, such as ‘pincer grasp’ and ‘key pinch grip,’ are vital to regaining the ability to use the hand after neural damage. MusicGlove motivates a high number of intensive and functional movements that have been proven[1] to lead to clinically significant improvements in hand function.

MusicGlove is portable, easy-to-setup and easy-to-use so users can practice effective rehabilitation from the comfort of their home or on the go. Initial setup takes less than two minutes and requires no prior knowledge of how to use a computer. MusicGlove comes with everything needed to get started, right out of the box, including a dedicated 10-inch tablet (Home Version) or a 21-inch monitor (Clinic Version), the Glove, custom headphones, all connection cables and a user manual. MusicGlove is FDA approved for purchase without a prescription so users do not have to wait to start playing their way to a better life!

“Engaging with music offers a form of therapy that will keep users motivated to continue their rehabilitation regimen, and facilitates a user’s hand’s ability to recover after a stroke,” said Nizan Friedman, Ph.D., president and co-founder of Flint Rehabilitation Devices, LLC. “As music is naturally highly repetitive, people using MusicGlove typically make over 2,000 movements in a 45 minute session. In rehab, the number of repetitions is one of the most important factors for regaining hand function. Users involved in clinical studies with the device love MusicGlove and are laughing, singing along, and enjoying the experience while seeing measurable results in a short period of time.”

In addition to being fun and effective, MusicGlove changes the way clinics provide hand therapy. The device requires minimum intervention from a therapist while users play the game, so clinics can provide more intensive group therapy without increasing staff. MusicGlove also records accurate quantitative data that allows therapists to set goals for their patients and track functional improvements over time. The low price and ease of use of MusicGlove is a breath of fresh air for clinics that typically do not have access to other smart rehabilitation technology and equipment that can cost over $50,000USD and require advanced training to use.

Results of a randomized controlled trial of MusicGlove with individuals with stroke published in the

Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation showed that people using MusicGlove had significantly greater improvements in hand function than people doing conventional hand exercises after only two weeks. Users reported regaining the ability to open doorknobs, type on a keyboard, wash dishes, use silverware, bathe and wash themselves, and use the restroom independently after exercising with the device.

“Options for hand therapy are typically limited to using things like play-dough, rubber bands or simply following a handout of exercises,” said Dr. David Reinkensmeyer, professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California in Irvine. “People lose motivation to do these exercises and do not recover to their full potential. With MusicGlove, they can have fun with their therapy while receiving quantitative feedback on their performance. This makes it easy for them to stick to their regimen, and when users get better in the game, they are actually improving their hand function.”

Another key unique benefit of MusicGlove is the continuity it provides between users’ home and clinic regimens. People with hand impairment typically only have access to therapy in outpatient clinics for one to two days per week. The rest of the time, they are left without any motivating tools to help them recover. With MusicGlove, users can continue their therapy on their own with ease. When users return to the clinic, therapists can see exactly how much exercise they did at home and how much they improved over the course of the week.

Founded in 2011, Flint Rehabilitation Devices, LLC is located in Irvine, CA. Its mission is to develop effective, engaging rehabilitation devices based on the latest clinical research and engineering innovations in order to provide the spark people need to break through plateaus in their recovery and reach their maximum potential. Its flagship product, MusicGlove, which is backed by the National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Disability and Research Rehabilitation, was developed by a team of world renowned researchers and physicians that specialize in rehabilitation at the University of California in Irvine (UCI), and is now used in top rehabilitation programs in the country including the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (#1 in the country), Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (#1 in California), University of California in Los Angeles, and UCI. For more information, please visit www.musicglove.com.

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[1] Friedman, N., Chan, V., Reinkensmeyer, A. N., Beroukhim, A., Zambrano, G. J., Bachman, M., & Reinkensmeyer, D. J. (2014). Retraining and assessing hand movement after stroke using the MusicGlove: comparison with conventional hand therapy and isometric grip training. Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 11(1), 76.