June 11, 2020
There are exciting developments in the field of robotics for spinal cord injury and stroke patients. A major problem in spinal cord injury rehabilitation is that these patients require a large amount of staff to provide limited rehabilitation interventions in order to maximize their recoveries. Limitations include: Patient Step Count, Intervention Requires Multiple Therapists, Therapist Endurance & Risk of Injury.
One aspect of the physiology of such rehabilitation is the concept of brain “plasticity” as a fundamental property of the brain that can be harnessed to remap or create new neuro pathways for recovery. But, the training must be Intensive, repetitive, and task-specific to facilitate gains in function following CNS injury.
Recent breakthroughs in robotics to assist in rehabilitation of these patients is their ability to provide repetition that is task-specific, with both precision and fewer personnel required.
In recent a recent study of stroke patients with chronic impairment, 46 Patients with chronic CVA were treated using an Overground Exoskeleton device that resulted in 70% regained ability to walk again & an increase in patients satisfaction. In a study using the Ekso Robotics exoskeleton device, researchers used EMG and functional near-infrared spectroscopy in 22 chronic patients and 15 matched controls to measure prefrontal cortex activity and found that higher brain activation was recorded during Ekso-assisted walking and over-ground gait training.
At Girards Law Firm, we are excited about how developments in the field of robotics can ultimately benefit our clients to improve their quality of life. In appropriate circumstances, we incorporate robotics-assisted devices in the Life Care Plans we advocate for our clients as part of the damages model who formulate in injury litigation.
We are available for questions or comments related to this or any other injury or wrongful death litigation issues.