Abstract :

Stroke is the leading cause of disabilities worldwide, leading to socioeconomic burdens and poor quality of life. Rehabilitation early after stroke is known to be beneficial for better recovery after stroke. Conventional rehabilitation is usually composed of several components such as gait, balance training, task-based training, occupational therapy, neglect therapy, and speech therapy. According to an individual patient’s functional state, a conventional rehabilitation plan is set up individually and modified along with the different recovery courses. This individualized patient-centered and goal-oriented approach is an essential part of stroke rehabilitation. However, clinicians and researchers in the neurorehabilitation field are always thinking of a better way to improve this essential part of stroke rehabilitation. The concept of neuroplasticity was introduced several decades ago and is actively researched but the clinical practice directly based on neuroplasticity is rarely performed in real-world settings. In addition, we are always thinking of a better way to provide conventional rehabilitation based on the neuroplasticity concepts, which is more dose, more intensity. The development of technologies and active collaboration between clinicians and engineers are opening up new possibilities in neurorehabilitation to overcome shortcomings in conventional rehabilitation and for an individualized neuroplasticity-based approach. In this talk, I will briefly introduce conventional stroke rehabilitation, and present my experiences in applying technologies to provide personalized and better rehabilitation, then want to discuss the way we have to go for better neurorehabilitation.