RESEARCH: New Device assists walking in patients

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Source: University of Toronto

Date Posted: 2005-12-15

Web Address:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051215085441.htm

ONE SMALL STEP MEANS GIANT LEAP FOR SPINAL CORD

RESEARCH: NEW DEVICE

ASSISTS WALKING IN PATIENTS

A new device developed at the University of Toronto

that stimulates

the muscles of patients with spinal cord injuries

helps to increase

walking function in those whose condition is not

expected to improve.

U of T researchers have found that functional

electrical stimulation

(FES), a process that sends controlled bursts of

electricity through the

skin and into muscles, can help patients improve their

step frequency,

stride length and overall walking speed.

& quot;This is a group of patients in which recovery is

not

expected, & quot; says Professor Milos Popovic of the

Institute of Biomaterials and

Biomedical Engineering and the study's senior

researcher. & quot;We got

them on a treadmill and worked with them and 18 weeks

later we saw quite

a considerable improvement. & quot;

Five patients, whose spinal cord injuries had taken

place from two to

24 years prior to the study, completed two to five

sessions per week of

FES therapy. After practising with physiotherapists,

the patients

learned how to trigger their leg muscles as they

walked. Over the course of

12 to 18 weeks, the patients gradually improved -- one

woman was even

able to stop using a full-length leg brace while

walking.

While the patients' walking skills had decreased 10

weeks after

treatment finished, the team found that overall

walking skills were still

considerably better than before the therapy.

& quot;It's truly rewarding

when the patients are happy and they write you a

little card saying,

Without you, I could not walk, & quot; Popovic says.

& quot;In the next couple

of years, I believe someone is going to develop a

functional electrical

stimulator that is suitable for this type of therapy

and get it on the

market, & quot; he says.

Popovic and colleagues are now conducting a similar

study on a larger

scale.

& nbsp;

###

The research was funded by the Ontario Neurotrauma

Foundation, Canada

Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust,

Natural Sciences

and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the

Canadian Paraplegic

Association Ontario. The study will appear in an

upcoming issue of the

journal Spinal Cord.