The challenge of the spin-off UCBM
15 March 2017 - Recover motor functions compromised by a stroke through an interactive game: that's what it promises Can robotics, spin-off ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, which has just launched its first product.
Is called Icons the system for robot-assisted rehabilitation of the upper limb created by a group of biomedical engineers UCBM that has received the medical CE mark for use in any environment, even in patients' homes. Icons in fact it is a device extremely compact and portable, does not need to be mounted and works through agraphic interface touch, therefore very simple to use for the physiotherapist and for the patients.
Being so far the only robot that can also be used outside of hospitals o of the centres of rehabilitation, goes directly to meet the need for activation of services home neurorehabilitation, favoring de-hospitalization, with the consequent benefits both on the quality of life of the patient and his family caregiver, and on the economic impact for the National Health Service.
The numbers concerning the pathology are very high: stroke in Italy is the leading cause of disabilityas well as the third of death (source: Ministry of Health). According to data from the Associazione Lotta all'Ictus Cerebrale (ALICe, 2016), around 913 Italians survived a stroke. Most of them need precisely those therapies che through Icons the doctor can also follow up remotely. In fact, the software used allows the physiatrist specialist to consult progress even remotely, thus inserting itself into the wide frontier of thee-health: taking care of yourself at home without renouncing the medical assistance of a certified expert.
