Objective neurophysiological measures to define motor function in healthy aging and chronic stroke

Globally, neurological disorders impact over 250 million individuals and of this, stroke makes up the highest demand for rehabilitation (Cieza, 2020). As the prevalence of stroke continues to grow, the number of individuals who experience lasting impairment will continue to increase. We face challenges including the limited availability of health care providers, access to specialized equipment and increasing costs. An emerging field of research has looked at whether we can use measurable signals of brain activity to assess the degree of lost function after a stroke. Electroencephalography (EEG), a method for recording brain activity has proven to be a low-cost, non-invasive and highly portable solution that is ideally suited to address these challenges. This approach could save time and money in stroke assessment and help with the development of new rehabilitation strategies. The purpose of this research project is to evaluate whether a new EEG brain recording tool developed by HealthTech Connex can be used to assess impairments in movements and cognition and to determine whether we can track these measures over time in individuals who have suffered a stroke.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lara Boyd

Student:

Christina Jones

Partner:

Health Tech Connex

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program: