Using Electromyography to More Accurately Assess Stroke Injuries

After a stroke, it’s hard for physicians to know exactly what’s going on inside their patients. There’s likely alteration in the connection from the brain to the muscles, but physicians aren’t able to easily assess the level of injury. 

Battelle hopes to change that with our electromyography (EMG) system. The prototype system aims to more accurately assess the level of injury in stroke patients. 

A sleeve that originally was used in Battelle’s NeuroLife® technology is a key component of the EMG system. 

In a past clinical trial, the sleeve was used to help stimulate the arm muscles in a person with a spinal cord injury. For the EMG system, we’ve reversed the scenario – instead of stimulating, we’re recording signals from the muscle. 

The goal for this prototype is to use it as a diagnostic and prognostic tool. That means it could be used to assess a patient’s level of injury and then inform and assist with treatment. 

We’re starting to collect data using the system and have plans to deploy it in a feasibility clinical trial.