ReJoyce Speeds up Upper Extremity Recovery Post Stroke

ReJoyce is an upper extremity rehabilitation workstation developed by Rehabtronics, designed to assist with rehabilitation of the hand, arm and shoulder after stroke.

ReJoyce is an upper extremity workstation used for assessment and rehabilitation of the shoulder, arm and hand. It is an advanced rehabilitation tool that helps people recover arm and shoulder mobility and hand dexterity after a stroke or brain injury. Released in 2011, the workstation is available for clinical use in facilities around the world and, through short-term rental, to individual patients for supervised telerehabilitation at home.

ReJoyce was developed for the rehabilitation of people suffering from hemiparesis as a result of stroke, brain injury or spinal cord trauma. Hemiparesis – reduced arm, hand and shoulder function on one side of the body – is one of the most frequent causes of physical disability worldwide. Traditional rehabilitation consists of multiple repetitions of twisting and lifting small objects and different kinds of arm and wrist rotations. With ReJoyce, patients pull, lift, grasp and twist the device while moving its arm in front of them to play different interactive games. The system offers a range of normal day-to-day activities like turning a key, picking up a can, or moving a doorknob, and it measures patients' performance while challenging them to get better instead of simply doing reps prescribed by their physician.

ReJoyce can be adjusted to suit individual patients' abilities and strength, as it detects the physical input from the patient and interprets it as relevant data within the game. Based on the data, the system provides patients with immediate feedback on their performance, motivating them to keep playing and improving.

The motivational aspect of rehabilitation using ReJoyce speeds up patients' recovery process because patients don't even realise how far they have pushed themselves and end up doing far more repetitions that they would in traditional rehabilitation programs. As patients progress through different games, the difficulty level is gradually increased to continually challenge them regardless of their level of ability.

ReJoyce was developed by Rehabtronics, a Canadian medical devices company based in Edmonton, Alberta, that specialises in creating solutions that help people recover from injuries to the central or peripheral nervous system. The company collaborates with research institutions around the world to develop and validate innovative rehabilitation tools.

Watch the video to learn more about ReJoyce.