Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital Adds Robotic Ambulation to its High Tech, High Touch Rehab Program

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Learn more about the Lokomat Pro system, which combines a treadmill, robotic legs, computerized synchronization and virtual reality to help patients re-learn to walk.

Newest Acquisition Features Virtual Environment Module

(Malvern, Pa.)—Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital clinicians are taking their high touch, high tech philosophy one step further thanks to the addition of Lokomat Pro®, an innovative robotic ambulation device that incorporates virtual reality into its technology. “We are excited that our patients can take advantage of this unique therapy modality,” says Dr. Lester S. Dewis, Medical Director of the BMRH Stroke Program. “Incorporating Lokomat Pro into our program ensures patients can take advantage of a full complement of ambulation technology and techniques that begins with full robotic assisted ambulation.”

According to Clare Small-McEvoy, PT, BMRH Inpatient Therapy Manager, the Lokomat Pro system combines a treadmill, robotic legs, computerized synchronization and virtual reality. “Locomotor training has been used for years by physical therapists to help patients re-learn how to walk following a stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and other neurological illnesses,” she explains. This new technology is an adjunct to manual locomotor training that facilitates earlier mobility and gait training because robotics moves the patient’s legs in a pattern more consistent with normal walking motion. The addition of the augmented feedback module (virtual reality) creates a virtual environment where patients can engage in different walking activities and exercises. “We can adjust the intensity and level of difficulty so that the exercises can be adapted to both the cognitive and motor abilities of our patients,” she explains.

Dr. Dewis notes that the acquisition of the Lokomat Pro completes BMRH’s full complement of locomotion therapy technology that also includes the LiteGait (manual locomotor ambulation. “Adding high technology like Lokomat Pro and LiteGait means our patients can maximize their functional recovery and achieve the highest level of independence possible.”

The new Lokomat Pro technology at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital can be utilized for patients who are receiving care as an inpatient or outpatient. Patients being treated with Lokomat-based therapy have a range of training possibilities and often can achieve faster progress because the training sessions are more intensive and because ambulation is monitored and assessed electronically.

Dr. Dewis, a proponent of incorporating high technology into the high touch field of physical and cognitive rehabilitation, helped Linda Gamble, Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital Foundation Board member and Campaign Chairman, spearhead the fundraising campaign to acquire the Lokomat and develop a robotic ambulation therapy suite at BMRH. “My hope is that we continue to find more effective ways to tap into the healing brain and brain plasticity to achieve better outcomes as our patients recover from their physical and cognitive disabilities.”

Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, which is affiliated with Main Line Health, is a leader in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Located in Malvern, the hospital offers a unique environment for recovery for individuals with brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury and other physical and cognitive disabilities. With 148 beds and an extensive Outpatient Network, the hospital is the largest and most comprehensive rehabilitation services organization in the region.

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About Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital

Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, which is affiliated with Main Line Health, is a leader in the field of physical medicine and cognitive rehabilitation. The 148-bed hospital offers the full continuum of rehabilitation services, including acute inpatient care as well as day treatment and outpatient programs for both adults and adolescents. The wide range of illnesses and injuries treated at BMRH includes brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and other orthopedic and neurologic injuries and disorders. In addition, Bryn Mawr Rehab Outpatient Network provides rehabilitation services at many convenient locations in Philadelphia’s western suburbs for patients of all ages.

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