Exoskeleton-assisted gait training to improve gait in individuals with spinal cord injury: a pilot randomized study

نویسندگان

  • Shuo-Hsiu Chang
  • Taimoor Afzal
  • Jeffrey Berliner
  • Gerard E Francisco
چکیده

Background Robotic wearable exoskeletons have been utilized as a gait training device in persons with spinal cord injury. This pilot study investigated the feasibility of offering exoskeleton-assisted gait training (EGT) on gait in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) in preparation for a phase III RCT. The objective was to assess treatment reliability and potential efficacy of EGT and conventional physical therapy (CPT). Methods Forty-four individuals were screened, and 13 were eligible to participate in the study. Nine participants consented and were randomly assigned to receive either EGT or CPT with focus on gait. Subjects received EGT or CPT, five sessions a week (1 h/session daily) for 3 weeks. American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS), 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and gait characteristics including stride and step length, cadence and stance, and swing phase durations were assessed at the pre- and immediate post- training. Mean difference estimates with 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze the differences. Results After training, improvement was observed in the 6MWT for the EGT group. The CPT group showed significant improvement in the TUG test. Both the EGT and the CPT groups showed significant increase in the right step length. EGT group also showed improvement in the stride length. Conclusion EGT could be applied to individuals with iSCI to facilitate gait recovery. The subjects were able to tolerate the treatment; however, exoskeleton size range may be a limiting factor in recruiting larger cohort of patients. Future studies with larger sample size are needed to investigate the effectiveness and efficacy of exoskeleton-assisted gait training as single gait training and combined with other gait training strategies. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.org, NCT03011099, retrospectively registered on January 3, 2017.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Author’s response to reviews Title: Exoskeleton-assisted Gait Training to Improve Gait in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Randomized Study Authors: Shuo-Hsiu Chang ([email protected])

Title: Exoskeleton-assisted Gait Training to Improve Gait in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Randomized Study Authors: Shuo-Hsiu Chang ([email protected]) Taimoor Afzal ([email protected]) TIRR SCI Clinical Exoskeleton Group TIRR SCI Clinical Exoskeleton Group ([email protected]) Jeffrey Berliner ([email protected]) Gerard Francisc...

متن کامل

Conceptual Design of a Gait Rehabilitation Robot

Gait rehabilitation using body weight support on a treadmill is a recommended rehabilitation technique for neurological injuries, such as spinal cord injury. In this paper, a new robotic orthosis is presented for treadmill training. In the presented design the criteria such as low inertia of robot components, backdrivability, high safety and degrees of freedom based on human walking are conside...

متن کامل

Hybrid gait training with an overground robot for people with incomplete spinal cord injury: a pilot study

Locomotor training has proved to provide beneficial effect in terms of mobility in incomplete paraplegic patients. Neuroprosthetic technology can contribute to increase the efficacy of a training paradigm in the promotion of a locomotor pattern. Robotic exoskeletons can be used to manage the unavoidable loss of performance of artificially driven muscles. Hybrid exoskeletons blend complementary ...

متن کامل

EMG Analysis Methods on Robotic Gait Machines

Gait impairment is one of the consequences of events like stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative diseases like Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinsons' Disease. The restoration and improvement of walking functions is one of the primary concerns of the rehabilitation of neurological Patients. To achieve this goal, a task specific repetitive training seems the most promi...

متن کامل

The Effectiveness and Safety of Exoskeletons as Assistive and Rehabilitation Devices in the Treatment of Neurologic Gait Disorders in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review

Study Design Systematic review. Clinical Questions (1) When used as an assistive device, do wearable exoskeletons improve lower extremity function or gait compared with knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) in patients with complete or incomplete spinal cord injury? (2) When used as a rehabilitation device, do wearable exoskeletons improve lower extremity function or gait compared with other rehabil...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 4  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2018