Quality in Ageing – Policy, practice and research Volume 7 Issue 1 March 2006 © Pavilion Publishing 2006 49 A BSTRACT Assistive technology is a term used to describe any device ranging from simple equipment to complex technologies that can assist a person with a disability.The term is now applied to new technological devices to facilitate active rehabilitation as well as to equipment to enable a person to live with their condition. Current developments such as technology for stroke rehabilitation are rarely brought to the attention of health and social care practitioners, even though frontline staff will be at the forefront of implementation, and their views of the nature of devices and their appropriateness is pivotal. This paper describes some of the technologies being developed to assist the process and delivery of stroke rehabilitation, their potential benefits in practice and stakeholder perceptions of these new technologies. K EY WORDS assistive technology stroke physiotherapy occupational therapy service delivery Does technology have a role to play in assisting stroke therapy? A review of practical issues for practitioners Nargis Islam, Nigel D Harris and Christopher Eccleston Nargis Islam is based at the pain management unit at The University of Bath and The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust, Bath. Nigel D Harris is based in the department of clinical measurement at The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust, Bath and The University of Bath. Christopher Eccleston is based at the Pain Management Unit at The University of Bath and The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust, Bath. I NTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND In the UK more than ten thousand people each year experience a stroke, with 3,000 of this number experiencing a further stroke (Stroke Association, 2001). Stroke is now the largest single cause of severe disability in England and Wales. The highest cost to society, following a stroke, is the loss of physical ability and subsequent loss of function (Wolfe et al, 1996). Rehabilitation has proven to be important in reducing this loss (Stroke Unit Trialists