How long will a patient benefit from the Bioness devices?
Many factors will affect clinical outcomes, i.e. severity of impairments, age, time since stroke, co-morbidities, pre-existing conditions, patient compliance and cognition. Treatment objectives will vary depending on whether the goals are to manage impairments versus improve functional outcomes. Patients with chronic disabilities may use the devices fro the rest of their lives to manage their impairments. Patients who begin therapy in the acute or sub-acute phase will continue to use the device as long as they are showing improvements in upper limb function. Depending on the extent of their central nervous system damage they may need continued use to manage impairments.
