South Korean Tech Company Neofect Creates 'Raphael Smart Glove,' Designed To Help Stroke Victims Regain Arm And Hand Skills
In a world where too much or too little sleep, stressful jobs, and balance issues can all increase our risk of stroke, where 795,000 people have strokes yearly in the U.S. alone, and where stroke costs an estimated $34 billion each year, there’s a need for a simple, effective form of rehabilitation. Enter Neofect, a South Korean tech company that created the Raphael Smart Glove to help with the rehabilitation process of stroke victims.
Incorporating motion-based games to help stroke victims relearn how to use their arm and hand, the Raphael Smart Glove came together thanks to a collaboration between rehabilitation experts and game designers. Neofect founder Ban Ho Young told Tech In Asia he estimates that 85 percent of stroke victims in South Korea don’t finish their rehabilitation programs, which is a concern, as the Journal of Stroke points out that 105,000 people experience a stroke every year there. Ban hopes gaming will help those people complete their rehab.
“Just moving someone’s hand in a certain way won’t improve that person’s condition because a large part of rehab takes place in the brain,” Ban said. “We see a lot of focus on the clinical side of things and not enough on the motivational.”
Using the smart glove, players choose games which correlate to the types of arm and hand movements they’d like to work on. In a game which has players pour a glass of wine, they are actually working on the movement of the palm facing upward and downward. In decorating cupcakes with icing, players are regaining the ability to extend and flex their fingers, or improve overall finger dexterity.
The glove can sense a player’s movements through sensors attached to the arm and hand. These sensors send the movement to computers that can tell how far you’ve moved individual fingers. Seeing as it is a wearable, it’s Bluetooth capable and has a companion app that uses the Raphael Smart Rehabilitation System to analyze and record data to show how much progress a player is making.
Neofect first offered the Raphael Smart Glove last December to South Korean hospitals and rehab centers for $10,000. Since they launched, Neofect has shipped 20 units overall to many institutions like Seoul National University Hospital, the Samsung Medical Center, and the National Rehabilitation Center.
As for taking the Raphael Smart Glove home with you, Neofect still needs to configure it for personal use, with the finished product being available to consumers early next year. As for when it will come to the U.S., Neofect doesn’t give a hard date, but has already begun its marketing campaign.