Skip to Main Content
Boston University
  • Bostonia
  • BU Today
  • The Brink
  • University Publications

    • Bostonia
    • BU Today
    • The Brink
  • School & College Publications

    • The Record
Other Publications
BU Today
  • Sections
News, Opinion, Community

Fine-tuning stroke therapy

GRAMMY Foundation honors BU researcher for music rehabilitation technique

April 7, 2006
  • Rebecca Lipchitz
Twitter Facebook
Amir Lahav (SAR'06) wants to help stroke patients play their way to recovery.

Amir Lahav (SAR’06), a doctoral student at Sargent College, is a musician and a composer, but it’s his work in rehabilitation science that has won him a GRAMMY award to study the use of an interactive music therapy for stroke patients.

Lahav, in the last stages of his studies in the Music, Mind and Motion Lab of the SAR department of physical therapy and athletic training, was recently awarded a $40,000 grant by the GRAMMY Foundation to investigate the rehabilitative potential of techniques in which stroke patients use their affected limb to create music and then listen to the music they have created. The foundation was established by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which gives out the annual Grammy Awards.

Here at BU, Lahav has been working on several projects, including the development of music technology and treatment techniques for improving motor function in patients with physical disabilities. Meanwhile, at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, he has done brain-imaging studies that explore auditory-motor interactions in the human brain.

“The clinical concept behind this therapy,” Lahav says, “is that movements will become more controlled, coordinated, and purposeful when patients use their body limbs in order to play music, rather than exercising along with background music.” The grant will be used to test, in a clinical setting at Harvard Medical School, how well these techniques work.

Some of Lahav’s methods have been employed at the Music, Mind and Motion Lab, where he has been testing his Virtual Music Maker — a human-computer interface that converts body movements into sounds, allowing patients to create music while performing prescribed therapeutic exercises. For example, a wave of the patient’s hand in front of a specially equipped webcam reads the speed and movements and translates them into music and a digital image projected onto a wall.

As a musician, Lahav knows that even the able-bodied face challenges and frustrations playing a piano or guitar. He developed the Virtual Music Maker, which does not require extensive training or special musical talent, to help stroke patients play music. The movements required to play the music are designed to mirror activities that are essential in daily life, Lahav says, such as opening a door or reaching for a cup. The music acts as a reward when the nervous system is under control, which in turn helps the patient regain motor function.

Lahav believes that his therapy may not be limited to stroke victims, but could extend to other neuromuscular disorders such as traumatic brain injury and Parkinson’s disease or even to physical rehabilitation following orthopedic surgeries.

“The GRAMMY grant is definitely one of my personal bests,” he says, and he is grateful for the foundation’s support of his research. He plans to begin work this summer.

Explore Related Topics:

  • Awards
  • Students
  • Share this story

Share

Fine-tuning stroke therapy

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Rebecca Lipchitz

    Rebecca Lipchitz Profile

Latest from BU Today

  • Things-to-do

    Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Fort Point/Seaport

  • Community Service

    Teaming Up with BU Sustainability to Give Bed Sheets and Towels a New Life

  • Neurology

    BU Neurologist’s New Book Explores Tales Our Brains Tell Us

  • Health

    35 Ways to Build the Community You’re Craving

  • Food & Dining

    Boston Has New Late-Night Food Options—and They’re on Wheels

  • Theatre

    Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Stages As You Like It on the Boston Common This Summer

  • University News

    Adnan Hyder, Scholar Dedicated to Improving Health Policies for Low- and Medium-Income Nations, Named Dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health

  • Watch Now

    The Stories Behind These Eye-Catching Sculptures at BU and Beyond

  • Student Life

    BU Paris Students Deliver Hospitality Research to the Palace of Versailles

  • University News

    Elise Morgan Named BU College of Engineering Dean

  • Public Health

    Grilled Meats Can Be Carcinogenic. BU Health Researcher’s Tips on Preparing Them More Safely

  • Things-to-do

    See a Concert Under the Stars with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, Featuring BU Faculty

  • Watch Now

    BU, but Make It Emoji

  • NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY

    How to Celebrate National Ice Cream Day

  • Health & Medicine

    Why Is Everyone So Obsessed with Protein? BU Nutrition Expert Has Some Answers

  • Sports

    BU Table Tennis Player Headed to World Championships in Germany

  • Public Health

    Americans Are Buying More European Sunscreens. Are They Better Than Domestic Ones?

  • Film & TV

    Did You Win Starbucks Gift Cards in Our Superman Trivia Quiz?

  • Social Media

    A Viral Marriage Proposal Raises Privacy Questions in the Social Media Age

  • Things-to-do

    Our List of Outdoor Concerts to Enjoy This Summer

Section navigation

  • Sections
  • Must Reads
  • Videos
  • Series
  • Close-ups
  • Archives
  • About + Contact
Get Our Email

Explore Our Publications

Bostonia

Boston University’s Alumni Magazine

BU Today

News, Opinion, Community

The Brink

Pioneering Research from Boston University

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Weibo
  • TikTok
© Boston University. All rights reserved. www.bu.edu
© 2025 Trustees of Boston UniversityPrivacy StatementAccessibility
Boston University
Notice of Non-Discrimination: Boston University prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex or gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, military service, marital, parental, veteran status, or any other legally protected status in any and all educational programs or activities operated by Boston University. Retaliation is also prohibited. Please refer questions or concerns about Title IX, discrimination based on any other status protected by law or BU policy, or retaliation to Boston University’s Executive Director of Equal Opportunity/Title IX Coordinator, at titleix@bu.edu or (617) 358-1796. Read Boston University’s full Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Search
Boston University Masterplate
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Fine-tuning stroke therapy
0
share this