GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Corewell Health announced it has become the first healthcare system in the state to improve stroke survivors’ upper-body movement with device implants.
The Vivistim Paired VNS System has been shown to help patients regain some of their hand-and-arm movement with help from rehabilitation, health officials say.
We’re told the device, approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), uses vagus nerve stimulation during rehab to bolster nerve connections in healthy parts of the brain.
The patient will perform an action (e.g. lifting a hand or object), during which a trained specialist with send a soft pulse to the vagus nerve with a remote control, Corewell Health explains. Patients are given a special magnet to operate the device for at-home therapy.
“Survivors of an ischemic stroke who have not regained significant arm and hand mobility don’t have many options,” says Sanjay Patra, M.D. “This device, coupled with intensive rehabilitation therapy, has the potential to significantly improve the quality of life for these patients.”
Corewell Health says VNS is traditionally used to treat epilepsy. The device is implanted under the upper-left chest with a minimally invasive surgical procedure.
We’re told 800,000 Americans suffer strokes annually, 60% of whom have impaired hand-and-arm function six months later.
