Paired VNS Therapy Clinical Care

If you or your loved one had an ischemic stroke and continue to have weakness in the arm, then there's something called a Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implanted device that might help. It's approved by the FDA. This device works with therapy to make the arm stronger. It sends messages to gently stimulate a special nerve in the neck called the vagus nerve, which helps the brain talk to the muscles better. So if it’s not easy to move the arm since your stroke, this could help to recover movement.

You can ask your provider to write an order for Occupational Therapy with comments “Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) Therapy Evaluation – evaluate and treat” for you. Starting as soon as four months after a stroke, and as long as 30 years after a stroke, you can schedule an assessment with a Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) trained occupational therapist at one of the following convenient locations:

If the occupational therapist finds you are a good candidate, they will send you to a Jefferson neurosurgeon and if they agree, then you would be a candidate to receive the Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implanted device. To enable the recovery of hand and arm function, the device must be used with a skilled therapist. 

There are two ways this stimulation paired with therapy can be done. The first way is to participate in 18 90-minute occupational therapy visits, usually done as three in-person visits per week for six weeks. The second way is to compress all the training into one week by going to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital and living in the hospital for one week, where you would do intensive therapy every day. The first way is like a marathon, and the second way is like a sprint. Both have been shown to be beneficial.  

If you have additional questions about Paired VNS therapy for stroke recovery, please contact Erica Jones at 215-503-4042 or send an email to CenterNR@jefferson.edu

To make sure that the system is providing the benefits we hope to provide, we invite all people who are scheduled to receive a Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implanted device to participate in our GRASP research study. 

You may also be interested in watching these presentations about brain health and recovery made by our friends at the Frazier Family Coalition.