Thought Technology's Medical History

Thought Technology's Medical History

Check out our Muscle
Rehabilitation Solutions

Teen goes from wheelchair to walking in three weeks

It's the leading cause of debilitating illness in this country but imagine being told as a teenager you'll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.

Eighteen-year-old Ariadne Popma, of Michigan, was determined not to let that happen. A stroke paralyzed her left side two years ago, most likely caused by a blood disorder she has called beta thalassemia.

Electro-stimulation therapy to shock her muscles into working again didn't work. She couldn't feel her leg, let alone think about standing on it, until she came to Cleveland and met Dr. Jeffrey Bolek in the Cleveland Clinic's Motor Control Program.

In three weeks, his therapy not only helped her stand, it helped her walk again. Unlike traditional therapies that electrically stimulate individual muscles, Dr. Bolek's program forces Ariadne's brain to tell her body what to do.

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What helps give Canada's Dave Williams a steady hand in space?

MONTREAL, Aug. 20 /CNW Telbec/ - As Canadian astronaut Dave Williams wraps up his STS-118 shuttle mission repairing & constructing the International Space Station, years of training and technology developed in Montreal have helped him soar to great heights.

For decades, NASA has been studying astronaut's physiological responses to zero gravity, to living in outer space and to staying in a space vehicles and space stations for extended periods of time. NASA recently conducted under water research since the environment provides some useful similarities to working in space. Using off the shelf technology, developed by THOUGHT TECHNOLOGY LTD of Montreal.

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Dr. Ray Folen

Telehealth and Biofeedback

TELEHEALTH AND BIOFEEDBACK Dr. Ray Folen - Tripler Army Medical Center is the largest USA military medical treatment facility. What is telehealth, and what are the benefits as a clinician and a patient? The US Military have soldiers and sailors deployed to many remote settings where highly specialized care is not available. Biofeedback, for example, is not available on our bases in Japan, Korea or Guam, where we have a large number of personnel. In order for them to receive biofeedback services,……. Over a dozen ProComp Infiniti™ systems are in use at Tripler, to treat staff via telemedicine overseas.

Telehealth and Biofeedback
by Dr. Ray Folen

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Repetitive Strain Injury, Computer User Injury With Biofeedback: Assessment and Training Protocol
by Erik Peper, Ph.D.San Francisco State University,San Francisco, CA

Dr. Erik Peper

Improper work habits, poor workstation ergonomics, and environment can lead to physiological dysregulation such as muscle soreness, fatigue, and injury (Grandjean, 1987). Some workers develop chronic neck and upper limb pain also known as repetitive strain injury. (RSI), cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) or overuse syndrome, from long hours of repetitive tasks at personal computer workstations. Workers with RSI suffer loss of productivity and income with increasing medical costs. RSI accounted for forty percent of workers compensation cases in 1990. Discomfort and injury can shape the way PC users feel about their job and computers.

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ucontrol

The Use of Electromyographic Biofeedback for Training Pelvic Floor Musculature

Incontinence is a major healthcare problem costing a conservative estimate of $15 billion, annually, in the USA. This reality is mirrored in countries worldwide. Patients with this problem often lead lives of quiet desperation and social isolation. Incontinence is among the leading causes of nursing home admission, with approximately 50% of all residents being incontinent.

The Use of Electromyographic Biofeedback for Training Pelvic Floor Musculature

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Towards an Integrated Approach of sEMG Utilization: Quantative Protocols of Assessment and Biofeedback
Gabriel E. Sella, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc.

Surface electromyography is a computerized electrophysiological technology that can be utilized in an array of approaches. It is an objective tool for assessment and diagnosis of muscular electrical activity in health and disease. It is an objective electronic monitor during the course of physical and occupational therapy for most neuromuscular conditions.

Towards an Integrated Approach of sEMG Utilization

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Aquatic Biofeedback in the Treatment of Orthopaedic and Neurologic Conditions

The use of surface EMG on land has been well documented over the years in the treatment of orthopaedic and neurologic conditions. From patellofemoral pain syndrome to spinal cord injuries; all have utilized sEMG in their treatment regimes with documented success.

Read more

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Humanistic Intelligence and the ThoughtCam Project
By Professor Steve Mann, Daniel Chen & Rubaiyat Islam

The ThoughtCam project uses biofeedback technology provided by Thought Technology Inc. to create a greater synergy between the user and the EyeTap wearable computer system. The fact that the WearComp / EyeTap apparatus is worn underneath clothing facilitates direct contact with the body, and thus encourages futher new forms of intelligent signal processing. Thus it may be worn continuously during all facets of ordinary day-to-day living, so that, through long-term adaptation, it begins to function as a true extension of the mind and body.

Humanistic Intelligence and the ThoughtCam Project

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Applied Psychophysiology - For Therapeutic Use: Healing A Shoulder Injury

This case report describes an indirect approach incorporating diaphragmatic breathing, imagery, role rehearsal and surface electromyographic (SEMG) feedback to successfully reduce pain and increase left shoulder mobility in a 23 year old woman with a left pectoralis muscle injury from a skiing accident. It demonstrates how direct biofeedback or therapeutic interventions may be counterproductive and indirect approaches guided by SEMG activity may facilitate clinical success. It is offered as a model to increase therapeutic efficacy when an initial biofeedback intervention appears not to work.

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Biofeedback Advisor
Recent Advances In The Assessment Of Low Back Pain

The focus of this paper is a) low back pain, b) the muscles of the low back and c) how recent advances in understanding their activity has changed the way the treatment is conducted. Excluding sudden trauma, for purposes of this paper four systems are viewed as causing low back pain. These are a) facet joints, b) nerves (impinged), c) disks (bulging or herniated) and d) muscles.

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Biofeedback Advisor
Clinical Utilization Of Surface Electromyography

Two years after his first ergonomic assessment Mark was still suffering from muscular pain. His employer had followed the recommendations of the ergonomist, purchasing a new chair and keyboard, lowering the monitor, and installing an adjustable workstation with a slant table. Yet, with all these changes, Mark continued to complain of severe and chronic neck pain, tingling down his arms, and aching in his forearm. In fact, his discomfort had increased.

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Getting to Know Us

Ted Selker hopes that our computers may one day act a bit like Big Brother, but with a positive spin. Selker works at MIT's Media Lab devising ways in which machines can keep track of what we're doing and anticipate our needs - from calling up the morning newspaper at the blink of an eye, to answering a knock at the door and taking a message.

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