Exoskeleton score tracks Fugl-Meyer arm ratings after stroke; vagus nerve stimulation tested with arm rehabilitation after hemorrhage

• Technology Oct 21, 2026
  HARMONY exoskeleton score tracks Fugl-Meyer arm scores (r = -0.93) in 10 stroke survivors, study finds
  University of Houston researchers recorded 10 stroke survivors and 10 healthy individuals wearing the HARMONY upper-body exoskeleton while they performed seven standardized tasks, six of them from the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE). A trajectory discrepancy score, based on how far joint paths departed from normative averages, correlated strongly with clinical FMA-UE scores (r = -0.93, P < .01) and had test-retest reliability of 0.98, according to the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation report. The number of kinematic synergies fell as impairment grew more severe.
  Source: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
• Research Oct 20, 2026
  Implanted vagus nerve stimulator paired with arm rehabilitation raises Fugl-Meyer score 4.08 points after brain hemorrhage
  Vagus nerve stimulation paired with rehabilitation improves upper-limb recovery after ischemic stroke, the authors said, and a single-arm pilot study in Neural Regeneration Research tested it after intracerebral hemorrhage. Twelve participants with chronic upper-limb motor dysfunction had a left cervical stimulator implanted, followed by six weeks of supervised in-clinic rehabilitation and 90 days of home-based rehabilitation. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity score rose from 23.50 to 27.58 points at the day 1 assessment, a mean change of 4.08 points (P = .002), and six participants reached the minimal clinically important difference. There was no control group.
  Sources: Neural Regeneration Research, PubMed

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