Partnership between Rede Lucy Montoro and French company Wandercraft can expand access to the resource for paraplegics and stroke victims
With the advancement of technology, a new hope arises for patients with paraplegia or in the process of post-stroke rehabilitation (cerebrovascular accident). In the near future, it is possible that they will find a state-of-the-art ally in their homes: a robotic exoskeleton to help them not only with treatment, but also with everyday household tasks.
The scenario is envisaged by Linamara Rizzo Battistella, president of the board of directors of the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Hospital das Clínicas at USP.
According to her, this is one of the potentialities of the partnership signed this week by the Government of São Paulo, through the Lucy Montoro Network, and the French company Wandercraft for scientific and technological research with robotic exoskeletons. The cooperation agreement will allow the development of studies and evaluations of the use of the equipment to help the movement of patients undergoing rehabilitation.
“This quest to return walking condition to people with spinal cord injuries, with stroke, with Parkinson’s, with cerebral palsy is very old. And now these devices are emerging as an alternative”says Linamara, who is also one of the founders of the Lucy Montoro Network, a reference center for assisting people with disabilities and disabling illnesses.
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In this unprecedented technology, the person “wears” the exoskeleton and, with the movement of the body itself, the robot starts walking. The model has a system that controls the user’s center of gravity to provide greater balance. Programmed according to the patient’s goals, the robot can bend, sit and stand, walk forwards, backwards and sideways, as well as climb steps. “Standing is also a very important brain stimulus”says Battistella.
The doctor explains that one of the equipment’s advantages over others that already exist on the market is the ability to be adapted to different patient profiles.
“It is very light and adapts to people of different heights and weights. This means that I don’t need to have equipment for each one. Inside the rehabilitation center, I can have equipment that reaches several patients”it says.
Battistella says he hopes that, in the future, the robot will become popular to the point where the user can have one at home, as is the case today with wheelchairs and exercise bikes.
“It will serve to do the training at home, but also to do activities of daily living”. says the professional. “Being able to get up, get a utensil from the top cupboard, or get up and walk to the bathroom, go to the kitchen to prepare a meal, will have a huge impact on independence. This is the horizon. But, right now, we are working with the exoskeleton thinking about training, guaranteeing quality of life”complete.
At the start of the partnership, the robot will be designed especially for training patients with spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s and stroke. “Let’s start with spinal cord injury, because of all these clinical conditions it is the most complete. It’s not that I remove the individual from the injury and put it on the robot, he needs to go through a major process of physical readjustment. It is the final stage, the coronation.”explains.
Still according to the specialist, the objective is that, with the advancement of studies with the exoskeleton, the Lucy Montoro Network can exchange information with the French company to improve and even expand the use of the robot. “We are able, together with all the knowledge they have already acquired, to bring a breakthrough both in terms of knowledge for patient use and in improving the equipment”he says.
The Brazilian Paralympic Center also participates in the cooperation agreement. Research on the use of the exoskeleton in athletes, explains Battistella, can not only improve training methods and performance, but also explore new robot limits.
“Of everything we talked about with the French company, what really excited us the most was the Paralympic Center. When they understood how far this could go, it showed our ability to expand the use of exoskeletons and validate this in a shorter time”says the doctor.
The president of the board of directors of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute of the Hospital das Clínicas at USP hopes that, in the future, robots can also be produced in the State of São Paulo. “We do much more sophisticated things. I saw that Governor Tarcísio de Freitas left very sensitive. I am sure that, with his help, we will bring, develop and improve this technology in Brazil.”
significant improvement
Interior designer Juliana Fleury, 44, has been paraplegic since 2020, after suffering a domestic accident with a gate. In 2021, she began rehabilitation treatment at the Lucy Montoro Network, through robotics.
The robot used by her is the Lokomat model. Unlike Wandercraft’s exoskeleton, the equipment used by it is fixed. It allows the patient with spinal cord injury to follow the details of leg movements on a monitor during training.
According to her, since then, her condition has improved significantly, including with part of the movements of her left leg already recovered.
“Through robotics, I was able to see the movements, know how to do it correctly. It really is a significant improvement. It’s a quality of life. The fact that you stand up, that you have the movements, helps the entire internal system of the body”he says.
The advances brought about by the treatment at Lucy Montoro made Juliana hope to be able to walk again. “Of all the places I went, here was where I found myself, because the diagnosis I had was that the injury was permanent. Here, I’m going against all the directions I’ve been given. It has professional direction along with robotics. This set is fantastic. So this new acquisition is very important.”he says.
With information from Government of São Paulo
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