For many kids with cerebral palsy, walking is taxing. They might spend thousands of hours step-stepping in physical therapy to make walking easier. In recent years researchers have developed robots to aid this rehabilitation.
A new JAMA Network Open study from a team in South Korea found that exoskeletons can improve a child’s gait, balance and motor function. This randomized clinical trial, which had about 90 children participating, is one of the largest studies to test the efficacy of robot-assisted gait training. Studies investigating robotic rehabilitation in kids are typically quite limited, said Chandramouli Krishnan, who directs the Neuromuscular and Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory at University of Michigan.
“It removes or minimizes the inequity in rehab research and shows that studying these technology-based interventions for children is important,” said Krishnan.
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