Uddin Mohy, Ganapathy Krishnan, Syed-Abdul Shabbir
Research Quality Management Section, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Distinguished Visiting Professor IIT Kanpur & Director Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, India.
Int J Telerehabil. 2024 Jun 28;16(1):e6611. doi: 10.5195/ijt.2024.6611. eCollection 2024.
Neurorehabilitation (NR), a major component of neurosciences, is the process of restoring a patient's damaged/disorganized neurological function, through training, therapy, and education, while focusing on patient's independence and well-being. Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, various applications of telecare and telehealth services surged drastically and became an integral part of current clinical practices. Tele-Neurorehabilitation (TNR) is one of such applications. When rehabilitation services were disrupted globally due to lockdown and travel restrictions, the importance of TNR was recognized, especially in developed, low, and middle-income countries. With exponential deployment of telehealth interventions in neurosciences, TNR has become a distinct stand-alone sub-specialty of neurosciences and telehealth. Digital technologies, such as wearables, robotics, and Virtual Reality (VR) have enabled TNR to improve the quality of patients' lives. Providing NR remotely using digital technologies and customized digital devices is now a reality, and likely to be the new norm soon. This article provides an overview of the needs, utilization, and deployment of TNR, and focuses on digital technology enablers of TNR in pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
神经康复（NR）是神经科学的一个主要组成部分，是通过训练、治疗和教育来恢复患者受损或紊乱的神经功能的过程，同时注重患者的独立性和福祉。自新冠疫情爆发以来，远程护理和远程医疗服务的各种应用急剧增加，并成为当前临床实践中不可或缺的一部分。远程神经康复（TNR）就是其中一种应用。当全球康复服务因封锁和旅行限制而中断时，TNR的重要性得到了认可，尤其是在发达国家、低收入和中等收入国家。随着远程医疗干预在神经科学领域的指数级部署，TNR已成为神经科学和远程医疗领域一个独特的独立子专业。可穿戴设备、机器人技术和虚拟现实（VR）等数字技术使TNR能够提高患者的生活质量。利用数字技术和定制数字设备远程提供NR现在已成为现实，而且可能很快会成为新的常态。本文概述了TNR的需求、利用和部署，并重点介绍了新冠疫情前后TNR的数字技术推动因素。
