New Therapy Helps to Improve Audio and Visual Perception in Stroke Patients
From: Medical Design Technology - 03/04/2014

A stroke can cause permanent damage to important parts of the brain, with the
result that many stroke survivors require lifelong care and support. 'It is
not uncommon for stroke patients to suffer from an awareness deficit or a
reduced response to stimuli on one side of their body. This condition, known
as hemispatial neglect, can mean that patients are unable to properly
perceive people, images or sounds on that side,' explains Professor Georg
Kerkhoff from the Department of Clinical Neuropsychology at Saarland
University.

The team of neuropsychologists at Saarbrücken have developed a novel
therapeutic approach that has now been tested in two separate studies. In
optokinetic stimulation therapy (OKS), patients are shown a cloud of dots on
a large screen in which one of the dots is highlighted in a different colour.
The dots move horizontally at a constant speed from one side of the screen to
the other. Patients must follow the movement of the dots with their eyes. The
direction of motion depends on which side of the patient's body is affected.
'If the left side is affected, the dots move from the right side of the
screen to the left,' explains Professor Kerkhoff. The dots therefore move
from the healthy side of the body to the neglected side. 'This effectively
forces the patient to become aware of his neglected side,' says Kerkhoff.
Once the dot has reached the edge of the screen, the patient has to move his
or her eyes back to the initial fixation point and the exercise begins again.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2014/03/new-therapy-helps-improve-audio-and-visual-perception-stroke-patients
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=139565&CultureCode=en

Link:
Georg Kerkhoff
http://www.uni-saarland.de/en/lehrstuhl/prof-dr-georg-kerkhoff.html