A robot suit will help the paralyzed
A new algorithm for rehabilitation of paralyzed patients has been developed
Anna Kerman, XX2 century, based on the materials of MedicalNewsToday: New algorithm helps neurological disorder patients to walk naturally
Millions of people have lost the ability to control their own limbs as a result of a neurological disease or injury. But a newly developed algorithm – in combination with robot-assisted rehabilitation – can return such patients to the ability to walk.
Spinal cord injuries, strokes, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy – this is not a complete list of diseases and conditions that can lead to paralysis. One of the new studies showed that almost 5.4 million people suffer from paralysis in the United States alone, with stroke being the main cause of impaired ability to move. Now scientists from the National Center specializing in Robotics (National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics) at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) and the Hospital University Center of the Canton of Vaud (Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois) in Lausanne have developed a fundamentally new technology that can help patients restore the ability to move. Scientists have created an algorithm that allows a robotic suit to provide the patient with the opportunity not just to move, but to do it naturally.
The results of the study, the first author of which was Jean-Baptiste Mignardot (Jean-Baptiste Mignardot), are published in the publication Science Translational Medicine (A multidirectional gravity-assist algorithm that enhances locomotor control in patients with stroke or spinal cord injury).
Current approaches to rehabilitation of paralyzed patients who have suffered an injury or stroke include walking on a treadmill. At the same time, the upper part of the patient's body is supported by a special device. However, such support cannot be called too flexible, besides, it does not allow patients to move naturally in all directions.
As the authors of the new work explain, the main task of rehabilitation of paralyzed patients is to "re-train" the nervous system to correct movements. This is difficult, because patients usually lose a significant part of their muscle mass, and their neural connections manage to "forget" the correct poses. To overcome these difficulties, Mignardo and his colleagues developed an algorithm coordinated with a robotic rehabilitation suit. The algorithm has been tested on more than 30 patients. It turned out that "smart walking assistance" significantly and immediately improves patients' ability to move.
You can see how the system works in this video:
It is also important that after just 1 hour of training with the new device, 5 patients' "ability to walk independently" significantly improved. At the same time, 1 hour of training on a regular treadmill did not have a noticeable effect on this ability.
The researchers developed the so-called "algorithm using gravitational forces" after carefully studying the motor activity of patients and considering factors such as "leg movement, stride length and muscle activity." An algorithm based on such metrics independently determines which forces should be applied to the upper body so that the patient can walk naturally. At the same time, the robotic suit helps to resist the force of gravity, deflecting the patient forward, backward or sideways – sometimes in several directions at the same time. Thus, the ability to walk, which is so much in demand in everyday life, is gradually restored.
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21.07.2017