A year ago, John Nute couldn鈥檛 brush his teeth with his left arm, drive with both hands or peel shrimp. A stroke in 2013 had immobilized much the left side of his body. He鈥檇 lost the job he loved running a marina and the housing that came with it.
But Nute鈥檚 life changed significantly over the last 12 months following the implant of a technology known as Vivistim that鈥檚 gaining attention in 黑料新闻.
State lawmakers are looking to at the University of 黑料新闻, where 10 veterans will be able to undergo the procedure for free and physicians will conduct further research to improve the effectiveness of the treatment. The adopted by the legislature鈥檚 Appropriations Committee on Tuesday includes $2 million in fiscal year 2027 to establish a Center of Excellence for Neuromodulation Treatment at UConn.
The Vivistim device, implanted in a patient鈥檚 neck and chest, includes a battery and a narrow cable that wraps around the vagus nerve. When turned on, the device sends electrical signals to the brain.
Neuromodulation, as it鈥檚 known, refers to the process of altering how the brain receives information from the body by stimulating nerves.
For reasons physicians still don鈥檛 entirely understand, employing neuromodulation by stimulating the vagus nerve through electric signals appears to rapidly increase the rate at which the brain learns new tasks. When paired with physical therapy, the device can help stroke survivors regain lost functionality 鈥� even if, like Nute, their stroke occurred several years earlier.
鈥淚t supercharges therapy,鈥� Christopher Conner, the UConn neurosurgeon who performed the procedure on Nute. 鈥淵ou basically get into a state where your brain is able to learn or adapt more quickly,鈥� he said.
Conner was among a group of physicians on the state鈥檚 Veterans with Disabilities Task Force who sought funding from the legislature to cover the procedure at UConn and subsequent rehabilitation at Hartford HealthCare for ten veterans. The funding would offer much-needed health care to an underserved group, as well as provide physicians and researchers with more data about how exactly the procedure improves results for stroke patients, according to supporters.
How does it work?
People who suffer strokes often hit a recovery plateau beyond which it鈥檚 difficult for them to continue making progress towards regaining mobility.
Neuromodulation offers results far beyond what鈥檚 been available in stroke recovery up to this point, according to several providers in the state. 黑料新闻 physicians said they鈥檝e seen patients regain basic functionality and return to hobbies 鈥� like cooking, playing guitar, and golfing 鈥� that they had to give up after their stroke.
Nute was still struggling with physical side effects when he saw an advertisement on Facebook promoting a new technology that could boost hand and arm function after a stroke.
鈥淚 just got tired of having my mobility impaired and wanted to improve it,鈥� Nute said. Eager for results and open to new solutions, Nute reached out to the company and then an occupational therapist to learn more.
When they met roughly a month later, in January 2024, Conner told Nute that he wanted to be transparent: He had never done the procedure before.
鈥淚 said, 鈥榃ell, I haven鈥檛 either, so that鈥檚 two of us,鈥欌�� Nute recalled with a laugh.
Nute underwent the procedure in May of 2024, and since then he said his range of motion has increased significantly. He loves to cook, so he鈥檚 most excited about the accomplishments that translate to the kitchen. Nute still attends group rehabilitation regularly, both in-person and on Zoom, and he also receives Botox injections every three months that help to relax the muscles in his arm.
鈥淲hen I first got the thing done, I wasn鈥檛 noticing improvements right away,鈥� Nute said. But over time, he said, that changed. 鈥淲hen I look at videos of myself before and after, I can see significant differences.鈥�
Conner has now done a total of 12 implants, with another five booked in the next few months. He said he gets calls weekly from patients all over the country who want to come to 黑料新闻 for the procedure.
鈥淭he interest in this is unbelievable,鈥� Conner said during public testimony at the state legislature. 鈥淗ere at the University of 黑料新闻, we鈥檝e established ourselves as a nation-leading center for this.鈥�
Vagus nerve stimulation isn鈥檛 entirely new, Conner said. It鈥檚 been used in the past to treat seizures and depression, with limited results. But using the treatment for stroke recovery is novel 鈥� the Food and Drug Administration to treat upper extremity impairments post-stroke in August 2021.
The real 鈥渕agic,鈥� as Conner puts it, happens in therapy, which patients begin two weeks after getting the implant. For six weeks, patients attend rehabilitation three times a week, for 90 minutes per session. The sessions focus on completing upper extremity exercises, like reach and grasp, object flipping and needle threading.
Each task is repeated about 50 times, and patients might perform a total of 300 repetitions in a single session, Subramani Seetharama, a rehabilitation specialist at Hartford HealthCare, said. As the patient performs these exercises, the physician turns on the Vivistim system, which sends those electric signals to the patient鈥檚 brain.
Seetharama, who鈥檚 been practicing medicine for 30 years, said he鈥檚 been frustrated that treatments available to stroke patients up until now have only offered temporary improvements.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been kind of disappointing,鈥� Seetharama said. 鈥淏ut here I see an amazing, lasting, persistent improvement in strength and function.鈥�
Carolyn Brown, cofounder of StrokeOT Inc. and an occupational therapist who has treated Nute and other Vivistim patients, stated in written public hearing testimony that she has 鈥渨itnessed truly miraculous results.鈥�
鈥淰ivistim has given chronic stroke survivors renewed hope and optimism for their continued recovery journey,鈥� she wrote.
State funding
Physicians still have lots of questions about how the mechanics of neuromodulation helps facilitate better results for stroke patients.
The proposed state funding would go towards studying brain activity in patients at different points in their treatment. It would also fund research on the effects of the treatment on patients鈥� ability to walk. Vivistim is currently only FDA-approved for upper extremity recovery.
鈥淥ne of the dirty secrets of many things in modern medicine is we have a poor understanding of how it works,鈥� Conner said. 鈥淭he problem with that is that it makes it very difficult to make to optimize that therapy. So what we want to do is we want to figure out what parts of the brain are actually leading to this improved learning ability.鈥�
Richard Foust, CEO of Vivistim distributor MicroTransponder Inc., said in emailed comments that 鈥渢he company applauds UConn Health, Hartford HealthCare and all the champions of this bill for bringing it closer to fruition.鈥�
鈥淢icroTransponder is incredibly honored that this legislation will make Vivistim available to our Veterans to improve their hand and arm function post-stroke,鈥� wrote Foust.
During the public hearing for the proposal, Rep. Tracy Marra, R-Darien, asked whether there are other potential funding sources for this treatment and research outside of the state government. Conner said that in the current environment, much of grant funding is on hold.
鈥淕ranting agencies and the program officers are telling people that nothing is getting reviewed,鈥� Conner said.
Nute said the idea of more people getting access to Vivistim is 鈥渨onderful鈥� and that funding for research is 鈥渘eeded.鈥� More than a decade after his stroke, he remains deeply involved in the survivor community. He serves on the board of a stroke survivors support group and regularly speaks about his experience with neuromodulation.
鈥淚 talk to people virtually everyday who鈥檝e either had a stroke or they know somebody that鈥檚 had a stroke and try to get them thinking that this is not the end of the road,鈥� Nute said. 鈥淭here is hope. Don鈥檛 give up.鈥�
