Official Therapist Blog

Robotic Exoskeletons Are Helping Stroke Survivors Recover Mobility

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 11.09.2010

Emerging trends in medical robotics join forces with Physical Therapists employed in top rehab hospitals

Physical therapists in America’s best rehabilitation hospitals expect to treat large numbers of patients who are stroke survivors. Current statistics hover around 700,000 stroke victims per year, with a documented 3 million survivors dealing with chronic after effects. Medical robotics are joining forces with physical therapy to help them recover.

Take, ALEX (Actively Driven Leg Exoskeleton), which improves gait function in stroke survivors over a six-week time frame; this device was the focus of the 2010 BioRob Conference, held in Tokyo this September. Stroke survivors involved in ALEX studies have regained leg function and overcome compensatory problems, like shallow footpath, poor balance and knee flexion—common after effects of brain injuries.

For the PT specialist and physical therapist graduate just breaking into rehabilitation jobs, robotic exoskeletons are receiving high reviews from doctors and patients alike.

How do robotic exoskeletons modulate foot movement in stroke survivors?

ALEX retrains the patient’s brain, encouraging movement through a pre-selected footpath with built-in window of variability, controlled by the trainer or physical therapist. ALEX corrects movements outside the desired window using an elastic resistance similar to what physical therapists are used to doing manually; this spares the PT the physical exhaustion associated with starting the patient’s current foot trajectory and morphing it toward a more normal one; because of ALEX, medical robotics does the work, rather than use physical therapists to provide weight supported treadmill training.

Read More about Biomedical Robotics and its Endless Possibilities

If ALEX goes mainstream, it could spare hundreds of thousands of stroke survivor patients from chronic muscle and back strain, joint pathology and other affirmatives that impede normal range of movement. Physical therapists who want a more in depth look at ALEX and the ALEX II device can read highlights gleaned from the presentation at the IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics; Spoiler alert: exoskeletons were a hot topic!

This comes as no surprise. As ALEX makes its way toward a successful clinical trial, the possibilities seem endless. We are, after all, talking about a virtual training environment that may one day train athletes to learn new skills more quickly. Whether technological advances like these occur inside or outside the rehabilitative hospital, ALEX is helping to do what physical therapists have always done: bring motion to life!

Are you a physical therapist graduate interested in doing the same? Spend time connecting with Travel Force Therapy Career Resources to stay abreast of physical therapy news and land top rehab jobs. Call Travel Force at 800-617-0608 or apply online today—you’ll be glad you did!