Feasibility and safety of Robot Suit HAL treatment for adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy.
To investigate whether Robot Suit HAL treatment (HAL-T) is safe and feasible for gait disorders in adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy (CP). We tested HAL-T in adolescents and adults with bilateral spastic CP (four men, four women; mean age: 18.2 years). Three participants were classified as level III under the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), and five were classified as level IV. The participants underwent HAL-T twice per week for 4 weeks. The outcome measures, which were assessed before and after HAL-T, included comfortable gait speed (CGS), step length (SL), cadence, and GMFCS level. Adverse events were noted. All participants completed the HAL-T sessions despite some mild adverse events occurring. The mean increases in CGS, SL, and cadence were 0.19 ± 0.14 m/s (p = 0.006), 0.09 ± 0.08 m (p = 0.020), and 18.0 ± 15.9 steps/min (p = 0.015), respectively. HAL-T is safe and feasible for gait disorders in patients with CP. HAL-T can significantly improve CGS, SL, and cadence and may be effective for improving walking ability in adolescents and adults with CP.
['Ueno|Tomoyuki|T|', 'Watanabe|Hiroki|H|', 'Kawamoto|Hiroaki|H|', 'Shimizu|Yukiyo|Y|', 'Endo|Ayumu|A|', 'Shimizu|Tomoe|T|', 'Ishikawa|Kimihisa|K|', 'Kadone|Hideki|H|', 'Ohto|Tatsuyuki|T|', 'Kamada|Hiroshi|H|', 'Marushima|Aiki|A|', 'Hada|Yasushi|Y|', 'Muroi|Ai|A|', 'Sankai|Yoshiyuki|Y|', 'Ishikawa|Eiichi|E|', 'Matsumura|Akira|A|', 'Yamazaki|Masashi|M|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D002547:Cerebral Palsy D002648:Child D000067190:Exoskeleton Device D005240:Feasibility Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D055815:Young Adult
Cerebral palsy Gait disorders Robot-assisted gait therapy