Integration between fMRI and motion capture system to evaluate changes in cortical activations after rehabilitation in hemiplegic patients

After-stroke hemiplegia is not a static phenomena, motor function can be partially regained along with a process of cortical reorganization. fMRI allows to investigate brain activation but hemiplegic subjects may not perform correctly the task paradigm. The aim of the study is to combine MRI with a motion capture system in order to provide a method to quantitatively correlate the cortical images with the executed movement. A specific protocol of ankle dorsalplantar-flexion was defined and used to evaluate the experimental setup and the rehabilitation effect on a post-acute hemiplegic patient. After one month of rehabilitation no more activations in the patient’s premotor cortex were found during the execution of the movement.