ViewPoint

The challenge

Hemispatial neglect is a common symptom after stroke, where patients miss things in half of their visual field. For example, they only eat one half of their plate. Neglect hampers rehabilitation in all other aspects (e.g. re-learning to walk) and decreases quality of life significantly. Patients with neglect are often unaware that they have the neglect. Currently the most given rehabilitation option is pen-and-paper tasks, which are non-moving and therefore not very transferable to real life. Also, training is only given sporadically, with a couple of half-an-hour sessions a week.

The solution

There is need for a continuous, real-life application to help patients recover better. The solution is to prompt patients throughout the day of important things in their missed visual field. For example, the application will warn a patient that they are approaching a doorframe and that they would likely bump into it. Next to preventing missed important things (and possibly preventing injury), it also provides a continuous training and awareness opportunity for the patients, which likely fosters better and faster recovery of their stroke in all facets.

Real-life warning & training application & for stroke patients with hemispatial neglect after stroke.