Charity-funded technology helps speed up stroke patient recovery

A new interactive touchscreen is helping to speed up the recovery time of stroke patients, thanks to UHNM Charity and its supporters.

The Acute Stroke Unit at Royal Stoke University Hospital has been able to purchase a Clevertouch Impact Plus which is a 55-inch screen featuring dedicated software that helps to increase the intensity of cognitive rehabilitation. This helps speed up recovery and discharge from hospital.

Patients can use the specially designed inbuilt apps and games to improve their hand and arm dexterity as well as vision.

Panagiotis Stergiou, Stroke Therapy Team Manager at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) said: “The difficulty with complex stoke patients is that they lack mobility, balance, strength, cognition, memory and vision. This new tool will bring all of them all together. We’ll be able to specify which area we want to train through the software and develop an holistic treatment for each patient.

“Many of our patients who are post-stroke and suffering from cognitive impairments often spend a long time on the Unit and due to its acute nature many suffer from low-mood and withdrawal. The fact its portable means we’re able to place it over a patient’s bed or chair and keep them entertained through a range of in-built, online or streamable content.

“Its connectivity also means we can utilise apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to better keep patients connected with their loved ones who aren’t able to visit them. We can also position it to make it a table for up to eight patients so they can interact with each other using specially designed games.”

Steve Rushton, Head of UHNM Charity added: “Thanks to our amazing supporters, UHNM Charity was delighted to support UHNM’s Acute Stroke Unit with this new equipment. Prior to its arrival staff on the Unit were using tablets with patients with much less effect due to their limited stroke-specialist content. The new screen will become an essential tool on the Unit not only improving clinical outcomes for patients but improving their experience whilst in hospital too.”