Riley robots are new tool in children's therapy

Related Photos

Physical therapist Ryan Cardinal watches as Anna Good, 6, from West Lafayette, walks in a Hocoma Lokomat lower extremity robot at the Robotic Rehabilitation Center at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The hospital is using robots to help youngsters with cerebral palsy and other movement disorders improve the use of their arms and legs. AP Photo / Joe Vitti

Discussion

September 4, 2010

Associated Press Sat Sep 04, 2010, 07:01 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana children's hospital is using robots to help youngsters with cerebral palsy and other movement disorders improve the use of their arms and legs.

Riley Hospital for Children's new interactive Robotic Rehabilitation Center uses two robots to help therapists measure a child's strengths and weaknesses to better tailor therapy.

Center officials say robotic therapy, often used in adult stroke patients, can help children with cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injuries.

"You're reprogramming the brain," Dr. Greg Wilson, co-director of the center and a developmental pediatrician at Riley, told The Indianapolis Star. "It's very similar to what therapists have been doing for a long time, but this is a great new tool for them."

The center is the first in Indiana focused on robotic therapy for children. Similar therapy is available in Chicago and Cincinnati, but those sites often have waiting lists.

The Riley center features a $370,000 robot focused on lower extremities and a $140,000 robot that focuses on upper extremities. The center also uses computerized motion analysis.

Wilson said a study of robotic therapy use in children showed a 20 percent to 33 percent improvement in gait and walking.

Susie Good of West Lafayette, Ind., hopes the robotic therapy helps her daughter, Anna, walk better.

Anna, 6, has cerebral palsy and tends not to bend her knees when she walks, Good said.

"We're hoping that this is going to help and force her to bend her knees more," she said.

The robots turn Anna's legs in a walking motion in a therapy designed to help her form the connections between her legs and brain.

So far, she's used the robot about 10 times.

"It's kind of boring," Anna said.

Text Only

Breaking News

Downtown Indy got bulk of Super Bowl excitement
Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to downtown Indianapolis for Super Bowl festivities, but outlying communities that served as official hosts to out-of-town fans generally didn't see as much excitement.

February 11, 2012
Maine GOP chairman says Romney wins caucuses
Mitt Romney narrowly won Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announced Saturday, providing his campaign with a much-needed boost after three straight losses earlier this week. But the former Massachusetts governor won just a plurality of the Maine vote, suggesting he still has work to do to unite GOP voters behind his candidacy.

February 11, 2012
Indians defeat Arabians in girls basketball sectional final
Anderson held Pendleton Heights to two points in the fourth quarter and brought down the three-time girls basketball sectional champion Arabians 40-38 Saturday.

February 11, 2012 1 Photo 1 Slideshow
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday. She was 48.

February 11, 2012 1 Photo
Unions expect right-to-work will cost them members
After losing their fight against right-to-work legislation, labor organizers are making a desperate bid on shop room floors and at union halls to persuade members to keep paying their union dues and avoid crippling labor's influence in Indiana.

February 11, 2012
Syrian army general assassinated in Damascus
Gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus Saturday in the first killing of a high ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March, the country's state-run news agency said.

February 11, 2012
First lady's trips boost health — and her husband
Michelle Obama is on a national tour to promote the second anniversary of her campaign against childhood obesity. The images have been disarming, intriguing and non-political — just the type of thing her husband's re-election campaign can't get enough of.

February 11, 2012
Indiana judge dismisses charges against ex-Pitt coach
An Indiana judge has dismissed a domestic battery charge against former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, who served briefly as Pittsburgh's head football coach before the case led to his firing.

February 11, 2012
Many Indiana House Democrats calling it quits
More than quarter of the Indiana House Democrats who unsuccessfully fought passage of the state's new right-to-work law won't try for re-election this year, further boosting the chances of Republicans strengthening their hold on the chamber.

February 11, 2012
Madonna: Not happy about M.I.A.'s gesture
The British hip-hop artist M.I.A. has apologized to Madonna for making an obscene gesture during the Super Bowl halftime show, Madonna's spokeswoman said.

February 11, 2012
More Breaking News Headlines

Breaking News

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Riley robots are new tool in children's therapy

Has Anderson Mayor Kevin Smith gone too far in firing city department heads?

Site Map

Contact Us