LOKOMAT. the HOPE.
Tan Xie Xing U046240M
A diving accident had nearly caused a 13 yr old girl to lose her both legs. Her legs couldnt move for five weeks. And when the doctors predicted that she had only 10% to 30% of walking two years after the injury, it was too much for that young and sporty girl to handle....
Just when she was feeling depressed, her HOPE came. The LOKOMAT. the beacon in the sea of darkness.
That young girl was trained with LOKOMAT for eight weeks. This Swiss-manufactured exoskeleton robot delivers power to her hip and knee joints, and strapped her legs onto the machine. She was then suspended over a treadmill, which her repetitive walking (training) takes place.
8 weeks past. Guess what?! That little girl was able to walk 250 feet! Amazing ya? LOKOMAT has proven the statistic wrong. LOKOMAT had strengthen her legs. LOKOMAT had removed that girl from the wheel chair. LOKOMAT has became her saviour.
what is LOKOMAT?
Lokomat is actually a robotic gait orthosis and it is used together with Lokobasis (body weight support system) and a Woodway treadmill to perform rehabilitation to people with paralysis, especially those with partial spinal cord injuries. The Lokomat would move the patient's legs in a walking pattern repetitively and this kind of training, in time, can assist patients to regain his/her functional walking patterns.
How does it operate?
During the training, the patient’s hip and knee joint ankles would move and be guided according to a pre-programmed physiological gait pattern.. Each of the four joints is constantly monitored by the Lokomat’s software to ensure that they are precisely held to the predefined gait pattern. The computer controlled guidance also allows individual adjustments of different gait parameters. You may like to refer to the below clip for better understanding. :>
Other benefits
Besides rehab purposes, there are several other benefits as well.
1) Regular therapy can prevent limbs from deteriorating, by strengthening muscles and bones of the lower limbs. Also, weight-bearing exercise helps individuals with paralysis to ward off the threat of osteoporosis.
2) It can help to relief the therapist. Instead of conventionally carry the patient to walk on the walking bars with three other helpers, the new robot would only require one assistant to monitor and run the machine. As such, with the help of rehab machines, the therapist would be leaving soon.
3) It is also believed that Lokomat is useful for patients with other neurological diagnoses such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson.
LOKOMAT is not an antidote that can cure paralysis in one day. However, LOKOMAT gives the hope to people. And it is through consistent and repetitive training before wonders can happen. :>
====================Reference=================
Lokomat, hocoma, Rehab Continuum Report,
