Face2Face™ gives hope to patients with Bell's palsy
Guest Blogger: Stephen Kinsey, MBA is the Director of MedStar Inventor Services at the MedStar Institute for Innovation.
As Director of MedStar Inventor
Services, I meet many creative people who are passionate about their
inventions. Jodi and Gincy are two of
the most passionate, enthusiastic and fun inventors I work with.
Jodi Barth, PT and Gincy Stezar,
PTA care for patients suffering from idiopathic facial palsy. The condition,
also known as Bell’s palsy, paralyzes half of the patient’s face virtually
overnight; but patients who exercise their facial muscles recover more quickly. Jodi and Gincy noticed that their patients
were emotionally distressed while practicing facial exercises with a mirror. The
psychological impact of seeing a newly asymmetric face leads patients to avoid
looking in mirrors and, as a result, avoiding exercise. To address the
emotional impact of exercising with a mirror, Jodi and Gincy invented a book
with mirrors on both inside covers called Mirror Book which allows patients to
focus on the goal of a symmetric face. The patient positions the book such that the
healthy side of the face is reflected in one mirror while the other mirror is aligned
with the nose along the sagittal plane. The Mirror Book creates the illusion of
a symmetric, “normal” face by reflecting the unaffected side onto the sagittal
mirror. Using this technique, patients become enthusiastic and hopeful as they
perform their exercises.
Knowing that this
product needed to reach more patients, Jodi and Gincy contacted MedStar
Inventor Services. In evaluating the
commercial potential for the product, the MedStar Institute for Innovation team
decided to commercialize not only the Mirror Book, but also develop
additional technologies based on this concept that will track the patient’s progress and
allow virtual off line interaction with Jodi and Gincy through instructional
videos.
See www.mirrorbooktherapy.com for more
details.
To learn more about MedStar
Inventor Services, please go to mi2.org/inventor-services.
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