Soon, software and hardware will be available for tailor-made rehabilitation programs for people suffering from neurological disorders including stroke/paralysis, epilepsy, dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Pratik Mutha, an assistant professor of biological engineering and cognitive science at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn has taken up a research project to study abnormalities in the movement patterns of neurological patients so that specific tools can be designed to enhance their rehabilitation.
What’s more, robotic devices and other technologies are also being developed which will be used in assisting these patients in re-learning their movement behaviour. Mutha said that project will understand brain mechanisms that mediate the control of motor actions, and what happens when this control breaks down. Mutha has also got government of India’s Ramanujan fellowship for the project. the project, when completed, promises to give better information and tools to experts to train the patients to be on their own.
