April 2006

Inside Track

Al Guerra

Interactive Metronome (IM), Weston, Fla, was developed more than a decade ago to help musicians improve their rhythm and timing. Soon, therapists realized that this technology could help autistic children. Now, it is also used with adults who have brain injuries or Parkinson's disease, as well as amputees and those who have suffered strokes. Recently, the US Army started to use IM to help rehabilitate returning war veterans. Rehab Management had the opportunity to ask Al Guerra, vice president of the rehabilitation technology division, about the company and how it has stayed at the cutting edge of the fast-moving rehabilitation marketplace.

Q: Tell us about Interactive Metronome and its role in the rehabilitation marketplace.

A: In the past 7 years, IM has branched out from its roots in pediatric/developmental outpatient therapy and now is part of mainstream therapy equipment in gyms across the country. IM offers something that was previously impossible in neuron rehabilitation: It measures and improves motor planning and sequencing.

Q: The Interactive Metronome was developed more than a decade ago to help children with learning and developmental disorders. What cognitive and physical skills benefit from the device?

A: A wide variety of human functions can be improved by using IM. Cognition, language processing, balance, and motor coordination have all been shown to improve in statistically significant amounts and in a relatively short time. That is why OTs, PTs, and SLPs use Interactive Metronome across the rehab spectrum.

Q: Interactive Metronome accomplishes something that is very difficult to do: It helps the brain repair itself. Would you explain how it accomplishes this?

A: That should be the ultimate goal of all neuro rehab. IM works in combination with traditional rehab therapy by promoting functional neuroplasticity. We want to push traditional rehabilitation beyond compensatory strategies and on to functional recovery.

Q: What trends, if any, do you see shaping the future of your company?

A: The most important trend is the emergence of technology in rehabilitation. If your readers looked around their gym, they would see some very good equipment. But most of it is built on the same premise that has been used for 100 years. We have very little technology in rehab, and we have very little—other than the therapist's encouraging words—to keep the patient motivated and compliant. IM works because it engages the patient and keeps their attention. It gives them feedback and pushes them to perform better. We don't have anything else like that in our gyms. If there is a trend, it is that new technology allows therapists to do their jobs better.

— Stephen Krcmar

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