Provider & Clinician eNews
November 2007
 
 

Save on Certification Courses before the year is over

The IM Certification Course cost will be going up starting January 1, 2008. Hurry and register today to save.



Join us for a one-day workshop leading to full Interactive Metronome (IM) Certification.

Date

Location

11/17 Birmingham, AL
12/1 Atlanta, GA
12/1 Portland, OR
12/8 Wichita, KS
12/8 Houston, TX
12/15 Boston, MA
12/15 Long Beach, CA
1/5 Washington, DC
1/5 Sacramento, CA
1/12 Tampa, FL
1/12 Philadelphia, PA
1/12 Austin, TX
1/19 Raleigh, NC
1/19 Salt Lake City, UT
1/26 Albany, NY
1/26 Des Moines, IA
2/2 Montgomery, AL
2/2 Albuquerque, NM
2/9 Louisville, KY
2/16 Baltimore, MD
2/16 Dallas, TX
2/16 Virginia Beach, VA
2/23 St. Louis, MO
2/23 Las Vegas, NV
2/23 Chattanooga, TN
3/1 Milwaukee, WI
3/1 New York City, NY
3/8 Detroit, MI
3/8 Boise, ID
3/8 Little Rock, AR
3/15 Cleveland, OH
3/15 Spokane, WA
3/29 San Francisco, CA
3/29 Kansas City, KS
The cost of the course is $200 (individual) or $180 (group of 2 or more)

*Don't see a course in your area? Click here to e-mail a Private Course request (Please include 3 course dates you are interested in.
*Note: Courses must be scheduled at least 45 days in advance) or call 877-994-6776 x230 (US Only) or 954-385-4660 x230

Click here to register today!
 

IM-HOME for the Holidays
The holidays are just around the corner, so give the gift of IM-HOME to your patients, friends and family. See the pricing info below.

IM-HOME is an extension of your clinical services into the home. Use this tool to increase your services and build your patient volume.

IM-HOME is fun, interactive & challenging.

IM-HOME Improves:

  • Attention & Concentration

  • Planning & Organizing

  • Balance & Coordination

  • Language Processing

IM-HOME is based on the same principles of the Interactive Metronome, which has been used for years to help children & adults improve neurological & motor function.

We have 3 different purchasing options (Click here to compare the models):

Click each hyperlink for the Ordering Packet

  1. Direct to Consumer- $595
  2. Provider Resale- $535 ea. for ≥5,
    $505 ea. for ≥10, $475 ea. ≤11
  3. Rental thru Provider- $1,295

IM Is Now MAC Compatible!


The Interactive Metronome can now be run on Intel-based Macs

Attention MAC-users! We know that you have all been waiting for this day and here it is! We are excited to announce the IM PRO 8.0 will run on Intel-based Macintosh computers.

First you need to download or buy one of the two programs below from outside sources:

1. Bootcamp- Lets you install Windows without moving your Mac data. This options allows you to start your computer in either a Windows or Mac environment. You must have your own copy of Windows to install on your computer, as Bootcamp does not provide you with this.
*FREE Download

2. Parallels - Run Windows programs like native Mac applications. This option allows you to open Parallels like an application in your Mac environment. You must have your own copy of Windows to install on your computer, as Parallels does not provide you with this.
*FOR PURCHASE ($79.99)

Once you choose an option, you simply install IM PRO 8.0 in Windows, hook up your station and start clapping away!

**Please note that IM, Inc. does not provide technical support for Bootcamp or Parallels, only the IM.
 

***IMPORTANT*** Your information may not be correct on the IM Provider Locator.

If you are an Interactive Metronome Provider and have never submitted information on the treatment types you offer, the IM Provider Locator will show "No" in each area and patients may think you do not provide IM treatment.

Please visit the Provider Login section of the website, Scroll down the Login Home Page and click on the link that says: "Click Here to Update your IM Treatment Types Offered "
 

IM Contact Information:
If at any time you need clinical, technical or marketing support, please contact us. We look forward to helping you making IM succeed in your practice.
877-994-6776 (US only)
954-385-4660
Fax: 954-385-4674
Clinical Support: opt. 5
Technical Support: opt. 4
Marketing Support: opt. 6
 
We are excited to announce that IM will be introducing core:tx ® neuro to market December 1, 2007. Read about this exciting new product below:

Overview
The
core:tx ® is a new performance based feedback system designed to facilitate somatosensory (proprioception) awareness and stimulate motor control and planning of almost any part of the body.

The core:tx ® is a software and hardware system that interfaces with a patient, giving him or her real time information based on the position and movement of selected joints in space. At the same time this system provides the clinician with valuable objective data on the patient’s performance and abilities.

Over the years, Occupational and Physical Therapists have been trying to find new ways to treat neuro-muscular deficits. The core:tx ® is designed for patients suffering from neurological disorders that respond well to the game like programs.

By providing multi-sensory feedback based on movement quality, therapists may be able to maximize the performance-based feedback and repetition to establish and reinforce new or existing motor patterns.

These neuro-muscular patterns form an important part in stroke rehab, peripheral motor control training and muscular imbalance training.

Stroke Rehab:
The core:tx ® provides an environment where the patient interacts with the program forcing them to make constant adjustments that facilitate the communication and problem solving needed to develop new motor pathways. By providing multi-sensory feedback based on his or her performance and the ability to practice functional movements, the potential for neuroplasticity is enhanced.

Motor Control:
In the absence or limitation of motor control, the visual and auditory information provided by the core:tx ® assists the patient in making real time adjustments that help retrain the brain and peripheral joint receptors. By improving the efficacy of these and other receptors (somatosensory receptors), the patient learns how to control the affected joint and muscles with greater accuracy.

Joint Stability (Muscular Balance):
The core:tx ® provides the patient the opportunity to engage muscles in response to the visual and auditory feedback provided by the program. By incorporating somatosensory information the patient learns how to control muscle initiation and intensity. Thus developing functional muscle balance and stability around one or multiple joints

What makes the Core:Tx ® Different?

The Core:Tx ® has a unique game like format of feedback offers the following benefits:

  • The ability to measure and track functional range of motion. As well as measure the quality of functional motor control
  • It provides an environment where the patient is cognitively involved.
  • It keeps the patient engaged and motivated through many repetitions.
  • It provides real time audio and visual feedback that can compensate for a potential lack in other feedback (proprioception) needed for motor learning.
  • Ease of use and versatility allow the therapist to simulate and measure the patient’s ability to perform functional movements.

Who will benefit from Core:Tx ® treatment?

The patients that would benefit from the Core:Tx ® treatment program can be divided into three separate groups.

  1. Central Nervous System Damage
    1. Stroke
    2. Traumatic Brain Injury
    3. Other Central Nervous System impairments (tumors, MS, etc.)
  1. Loss of Motor Control
    1. Traumatic Nerve Damage
    2. Compression Nerve Damage
    3. Peripheral Neuropathy
    4. Loss of Proprioception due to Injury or Joint Replacement
  1. Joint Stability Disorders
    1. Post Surgical Muscle Imbalance
    2. Muscle Imbalance due to Injury

The Core:Tx ®  is versatile with 14 pre-selected movements and the ability to add any new movements of functional motor patterns that can be used to facilitate neuro-muscular control and carry-over to functional task performance and at the same time measure this progression.

Look for more information about core:tx ® in a feature eNews later this month. Details on ordering information will be included.
 


Learn the answers to Frequently Asked Clinical Questions

Clinical Questions Answered Here
Get answers to your clinical questions here. Also be sure to visit the provider login section of the website and use the FAQ/Best Practices tool. This exciting new feature lets you search for answers to IM questions by Diagnosis, Deficit, or both.

Q: My husband is a deaf man who went to Healthsouth for a language evaluation.  It was recommended that his therapy include the Interactive Metronome.  It is my understanding that this has never been used with a deaf person at this clinic.  I am curious if this has ever been used with a deaf person any where else and if so, was it successful?  A hearing person has the benefit of the beeping sound as well as the flash on the computer.  A deaf person will only have the flashing light.  Can it be as effective?

From Clinical Education Director: Amy Vega

A: It has recently been discovered that IM can be used with the sound turned off (using the visual mode with center flash) to rehabilitate visual attention, processing, and processing speed....below is is the story of how the use of IM in this way has propagated.

I worked in a highly specialized outpatient brain injury rehab center with patients suffering from a variety of neurological deficits (traumatic brain injury, stroke, brain tumor resection, epilepsy, Parkinson's, etc). I have witnessed time and again the dramatic outcomes that can be achieved with IM...as compared to other treatment approaches that do not incorporate timing and rhythm.

I was very diligent in assessing my patients before IM, at interim points in IM treatment, and upon completion of IM with standardized and functional evaluation tools to document changes in cognitive, communicative, and behavioral functioning.  I noticed that almost all of the patients (I'd say just about 99%) improved significantly in auditory attention, auditory processing, and auditory processing speed.  At least half of those same patients that improved in auditory attention and processing (maybe more) continued to show profound to severe deficits in visual attention and processing (< 1st percentile to 1st percentile on standardized assessment). 
 
I reasoned that, although I had used combined auditory - visual modes with these individuals in an attempt to improve both auditory and visual attention and processing, these patients must have relied more on their stronger auditory modality.  Without forcing the visual modality to kick in, I reasoned they may not improve in their visual skills.  Research on rehabilitation of the arm and hand after stroke (hemiplegia) shows that when the patient's intact arm & hand are constrained and he is forced to use the impaired extremity for all activities of daily living in an intensive manner, recovery of function of the arm and hand occurs (AKA constraint-induced therapy).  Functional MRI (MRI scan that allows researchers to see what the brain is doing during motor or cognitive/behavioral tasks) shows neurological reorganization or neurological recovery of function of the arm and hand in patients that undergo this type of "forced-use" therapy...So, I turned off the sound (unplugged the headphones) and tried IM without sound on myself to see if this could be done.  I was successful and began to do this with certain patients who were not progressing visually. 
 
With the visual mode on (with center flash) and the sound turned off, I often found that I needed to turn down the tempo (i.e., reduce the speed)...even though the patient used the visual mode previously at the normal tempo (54 beats per minute) when the sound was on.....further evidence that the patient was not truly engaging visual attention and processing??  The patients were then required to attend to, process, and anticipate the timing and rhythm of the "visual metronome," using the visual guides on the screen to determine how close to or how far away from the beat there were.  I gradually increased the pace by increasing the tempo so the patients were required to process the visual information faster and faster.  I created visual stimuli that I used in conjunction with the IM (this part was done with the sound on though).  The visual stimuli I created were intended to work on several aspects of function: visual attention, visual processing, visual memory, planning & anticipating, processing speed, and impulse-control.
 
Upon completion of the visual IM program (IM with sound off & use of visual stimuli with IM sounds on), I then retested these patients for visual attention and processing (i.e., attention and processing tests, reading tests, functional assessment of safety and independence in the environment...crossing the street, finding items on store shelves, etc).  I then saw measurable improvement in visual attention, visual processing, processing speed, reading, and executive functions (self-monitoring, self-evaluation, problem-solving, anticipation & planning, self-initiation, organization & sequencing, reasoning, behavioral control).  I cannot say with certainty what was more effective... doing IM with the sound off....the visual stimuli with the sound on...or combination of the two approaches.  Due to significant impact of this approach on my patients' functioning, I continued to practice this way and other clinicians who worked with me adopted the approach with similar outcomes.  After presenting on use of visual IM at the IM Professional Conference in 2006, I've heard some feedback that this particular use of IM has been adopted by a few other clinicians around the U.S. and that it has been beneficial to their patients.
 
The clinical application of IM continues to evolve to this day.  Clinicians are pushing the envelope with this neuro technology, recognizing that incorporating the 4 critical elements of timing, rhythmicity, timely feedback (guide sounds), and repetition/intensity in almost any activity is very beneficial and results in better treatment outcomes.  IM has recently been referred to as a "timing intervention."  No matter how it is used, it is tapping into that critical aspect of human function called temporal processing.
 
A deaf person could use IM in this manner (with the sound off).  As mentioned (in red above), I am not sure which of the interventions was most effective in producing the cognitive outcomes I witnessed with my "hearing" patients....this is a question for further study.  The clinician who is suggesting use of the IM with your husband should be able to provide you with a rationale for use of the IM with the sound off (i.e., to work on attention/concentration, to improve motor control and coordination, to improve reading, etc).  The metronome is the stimulus for improving timing & rhythm.  In theory, the visual metronome (with sound off) should be just as effective as the auditory metronome for improving cognitive & motor skills.  While there can be no absolute guarantee of outcomes for your husband, IM is a non-invasive intervention and it cannot hurt to try it.  It is the best tool we have at this time to improve the core skills of timing  rhythm. 
 
Gains from IM will be best observed by you, your husband, and his therapist if he is assessed with standardized measures to document baseline performance before IM is implemented.  He should be reassessed periodically and upon completion of IM to determine whether and where specific gains were made (i.e., improve motor skills, improved concentration, etc). 
13794 NW 4th Street • Suite 204 • Sunrise, FL • 33325 • www.interactivemetronome.com • 877-994-6776 • 954-385-4660