The use of a robotic exoskeleton helps those who use it to walk more erect, have less feeling of fatigue and greater fluidity of movement, important advances for children with cerebral palsy.
Those are the conclusions of Child Jesus Hospital of Madrid that, in collaboration with the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), He has developed an exoskeleton that improves the mobility of children with cerebral palsy.
It is a helmet that detects the electrical activity of the brain when the child wants to ride and activates the motors of the robot
A pioneer invention
We had already talked about the exoskeleton created by the CSIC and how it helps children with muscular atrophy. But now, it incorporates important improvements, with its own engines in the knee, hip and trunk control adjustments, and a great novelty: an electroencephalopathy helmet (a kind of swimming pool cap with electrodes) connected to the motor cortex of the brain, which allows the minor to give the order of movement.
When the child thinks he wants to move and concentrates on performing the action, the electrodes of the helmet measure the brain's electrical activity and detect the frequency of movement. Then, the robot starts following the instructions.
This is explained by Dr. Ignacio Martínez, from the Neuroortopedia unit of the Niño Jesús hospital. Add that the CP-Walker 2.0 exoskeleton (your name) "It serves to train the posture of these patients, who often walk too far forward because they do not control the trunk, but also to manage the coordination of their muscles well."
In Babies and more, he has cerebral palsy and fulfilled his dream of parading only a few months after walking for the first timeBenefit for 70% of children with cerebral palsy
Dr. Ignacio Martínez explains that childhood cerebral palsy is the most common neuromuscular disease (between two and three cases per 1,000 live newborns): "The new tool could be beneficial for 70 percent of patients."
It has already been tested in some children in the center of Madrid, and now a multicenter study will be carried out, which will evaluate its effectiveness in another 120 children (10 of them in the Child Jesus) and that also involves a Chicago hospital ( U.S). It is expected to end in 2022.
The robotic therapy sessions They seek to reproduce the activity of daily life, so that the child can interact with a habitual environment.
The device weighs about 60 kilograms and reaches a speed of 0.6 meters per second (the usual when walking). Its developers explain that It is a rehabilitation tool and not a permanent exoskeleton: It is intended to be used for about 16 sessions of one hour, plus some other maintenance and intensive physiotherapy for three to four weeks.
Its purpose is to educate the posture and coordination of different parts of the body, so that children can walk more autonomously, since it allows you to control the joints at the same time and help the child control his trunk. Gradually it is the muscles themselves that follow those learned patterns.
That is, it is able to apply force on each of the joints and seeks at first that patients control their legs, giving them a walking pattern so that they understand how they have to move.
In Babies and more, Iker has cerebral palsy and his parents fight because early attention does not end at sixIts use is indicated for early ages, when the plasticity of the brain and body posture can best be corrected. In fact, CSIC is already working on a new design adapted to babies.
They think it could be marketed in about five years and "there are already interested companies" in putting it up for sale.
In this video that the Europa Press agency has shared on its Facebook account, you can see how the exoskeleton developed by the CSIC and the Niño Jesús Hospital works.
