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May 3, 2007 7:14 pm US/Central
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Robot Helps Patients Walk To Recovery
by Dennis Douda
(WCCO)
A precision, Swiss-built robot, called the Lokomat, is helping patients work harder during rehabilitation by doing an exercise that normally could take up to three physical therapists to accomplish.
Karen Loewen has had to rely on a wheelchair since January after an infection on her spinal cord required surgery. She is determined to get back on her feet and the Lokomat is helping her do just that.
The standard method for delivering the kind of therapy Loewen is getting involves a basic treadmill. However, it requires up to three therapists who are moving her legs through every step.
The Lokomat works by mechanically moving a patient's leg in a walking pattern without the resistance of actually walking.
"It's a really good experience just getting up vertical and then being able to do that much walking, and kind of quality walking, without feeling the fatigue and pain and some of the other issues that they have when they're doing this kind of training on land," said Physical Therapist Brian LeLoup.
To give patients the most beneficial workout they can handle, Lokomat's computer programs the patients speed and physical resistance. Counter weights lighten the load less and less as muscle strength builds.
"The Lokomat allows one physical therapist to work one on one with Karen, fine tune her walking and really give her what's been shown to be the most effective dosage of this kind of gait training," said LeLoup.
The machine also allows patients to work out longer because therapists often become exhausted before the patients do.
Therapists say the repetition of a smooth, finely tuned walking pattern helps retrain nerve pathways to the brain needed for balance and coordination. It is hoped that Lokomat will prove to be the perfect tool for rehabbing stroke and trauma patients too.
The $265,000 Lokomat was purchased by the Sister Kenny Foundation. They may also acquire robot arms, an invention from the same company for rehabilitating the upper body.
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