KEY POINTS:
A simple table-top device dreamed up, designed and manufactured in Auckland is drawing global praise for its ability to help stroke victims.
The University of Auckland-developed device helps stroke victims to exercise the parts of their brain most affected by a stroke, and has shown remarkable success in trials to date. Significant interest in the device has been expressed from Harvard University in the United States, the Brain Research Centre in Canada and other international organisations.
Project co-ordinator Dr Cathy Stinear, a research fellow at Auckland University, told the Herald yesterday that the device was built on a foundation of firm, well-understood science.
"It's based on sound neuro-science principles. We actually understand what it does."
The device allows the patient to perform hand movements with their good hand, while their affected hand is helped to mimic those movements.
Dr Stinear said that while the recorded benefits for stroke victims had been impressive, the device had been produced with a goal of simplicity.
"It's incredibly simple. We took a very Kiwi approach - it had to be No 8 wire almost. It had to be simple enough for my grandmother to use in her lounge."
Its cheap price, ease of use and ability to be put in a patient's own home were factors that had made the medical community take notice of the development, she said.
A submission for funding for a further, larger-scale New Zealand-based trial is before the Health Research Council, which funded the initial 32-person trial.
An answer is expected within a month.
The device will be produced in a not-for-profit contract by Criterion Group in Auckland, and deliveries are expected to begin next year.
Criterion Group manufacturing manager Michael Norton said a retail price had not yet been fixed but it would sell for "hundreds, not thousands" of dollars.
"The goal is to make the thing affordable for the people who need it."
