Project Background
Strokes are a prevalent condition where blood flow is momentarily interrupted to one region of the brain, resulting in the death of brain cells. A common post-stroke complication is hemiparesis, a condition characterized by muscular weakness in one half of the body, contralateral to the half of the brain that was damaged. The majority of stroke patients will favor their body weight to the ipsilesional side of their body, or towards the side of the lesion, since this is their stronger side. In contrast, Pusher Syndrome patients will actually place their weight towards their hemiparetic (weak) side.(1) This is problematic because the weak side can often not support the patient's weight, leading to an increased risk of falling. Pusher Syndrome patients take an average of 3.6 weeks longer to recover from their strokes.(2)
Surprisingly, patients with Pusher Syndrome have an unaffected sense of visual vertical, meaning they can accurately determine if a line or an object is vertically aligned. However, they have an "altered perception of the body's orientation in relation to gravity."(1) With their eyes closed, patient's tend to lean towards their nonparetic (strong) side about 18 degrees. When the patient's eyes are open, they are confronted with visual cues that conflict with their internal perception of vertical alignment, and they over-correct their posture, eventually leaning to their hemiparetic side.
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1. Karnath, Hans-Otto, and Doris Broetz. "Understanding and treating “pusher syndrome”." Physical therapy 83.12 (2003): 1119-1125.
2. Pedersen, Palle M., et al. "Ipsilateral pushing in stroke: incidence, relation to neuropsychological symptoms, and impact on rehabilitation. The Copenhagen Stroke Study." Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 77.1 (1996): 25-28.
Surprisingly, patients with Pusher Syndrome have an unaffected sense of visual vertical, meaning they can accurately determine if a line or an object is vertically aligned. However, they have an "altered perception of the body's orientation in relation to gravity."(1) With their eyes closed, patient's tend to lean towards their nonparetic (strong) side about 18 degrees. When the patient's eyes are open, they are confronted with visual cues that conflict with their internal perception of vertical alignment, and they over-correct their posture, eventually leaning to their hemiparetic side.
View our project scope here
View our design specifications here
1. Karnath, Hans-Otto, and Doris Broetz. "Understanding and treating “pusher syndrome”." Physical therapy 83.12 (2003): 1119-1125.
2. Pedersen, Palle M., et al. "Ipsilateral pushing in stroke: incidence, relation to neuropsychological symptoms, and impact on rehabilitation. The Copenhagen Stroke Study." Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 77.1 (1996): 25-28.