HemiStim

Hemistim can be used for visual stimulation of areas of the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes hemispherically. It involves specific brain stimulation that, although uncommonly combined with other treatments, can form part of a home-based or office-based program. This approach aims to enhance hemispheric connectivity in targeted areas of the brain and its connections to the parietal/temporal or frontal cortices.

Hemistim provides visual stimulation using color patterns and eye tracking exercises designed for either the left or right visual field. These visual stimuli are processed by the contralateral (opposite) occipital lobe. The interaction prompts pursuit and saccadic eye movements directed towards a moving object. While pursuit movements away from and saccadic movements towards alternating squares are initiated by the ipsilateral (same side) parietal and frontal cortex respectively. Thus, this method enables practitioners to engage all four lobes hemispherically.

HemiStim is user-friendly.

• Swipe left or right to choose different colored patterns from a selection.
• Tap on a pattern to activate a blinking effect. The pattern will continue blinking until stopped by a timer. Double-tapping the pattern also halts the blinking effect.
• Adjust the blink rate and timer duration using the sliders provided.
• Control target motion by tapping on the small target located next to the speed control. Select among no motion, saccade, or pursuit through consecutive taps on this target. Exterior motion is represented by purple arrows on the target, while interior motion is indicated by white arrows.

The new Saccades screen exclusively displays target motion.

• Drag the purple target with one finger to adjust its direction and length of motion.
• To switch between saccades (dashed line) and pursuits (solid line), tap once simultaneously with two fingers. Initiate saccades or pursuits with a single tap using one finger.
• Stop target motion by double-tapping the screen with one finger.

HemiStim conveniently tracks therapy sessions, documenting all relevant details for each session. This feature allows for seamless communication between clinicians and patients via email.