Researchers in The University of Texas at Dallas’ Texas Biomedical Device Center (TxBDC) have developed an at-home physical rehabilitation system that could give stroke patients an improved ability to recover upper-limb function while removing transportation and other barriers. “For neurorehabilitation after stroke or spinal cord injury, the goal is to make new neural connections — you have to get people really engaged,” Kilgard said. “In rehab, patients are asked to do a small amount of targeted work every day, ramping up slowly. Sixteen patients used the system during an initial one-hour office visit, and four of them took the system home. “Adding the recovery-accelerating power of VNS to RePlay’s engaging, convenient therapy could vastly improve the physical rehabilitation experience for stroke and spinal cord injury patients,” Kilgard said.