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Video Shows the Lokomat in a New Light

Video Shows the Lokomat in a New Light images: HOCOMA, SWITZERLAND 

Hocoma has posted a new video of the Lokomat, the company's robotic gait trainer, filmed with a GoPro Hero3+ camera.

Hocoma has posted a new video of the Lokomat, the company's locomotion therapy device, filmed with a GoPro Hero3+, which reveals the Lokomat in an entirely new light. The latest video shows the patient Marc de Hond and his trainer Frank Ettema using the device in therapy.

The Lokomat is a walking treadmill robot widely used in rehabilitation and physical therapy for recovery after a stroke or spinal cord injury that impairs a person's ability to walk. Hocoma's device provides an effective intervention, helping patients improve walking function affected by an injury or neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy.

The Lokomat is based on research and development conducted at the Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. The device combines locomotion therapy with automated gait orthosis on a treadmill and helps improve the patient's walking movements and mobility. The latest version of the LokomatPro provides Augmented Performance Feedback and is equipped with a touch screen.

The LokomatPro offers a number of advantages that are not readily available in traditional physical therapy and rehabilitation. The training sessions are longer and more intensive, and the machine delivers real-time feedback which motivates the patient to keep exercising and helps physical therapists assess the patient's progress faster.

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The LokomatPro machine consists of a treadmill, a robotic gait orthosis, and a Levi body weight support system. The physiological gait pattern is delivered by the adjustable orthosis, body weight support system, and guidance force. As the patient performs the exercises, his or her legs are guided by a pre-programmed physiological gait pattern. The therapist or trainer can adjust the gait parameters through computer-controlled guidance to suit the needs of individual patients. The device uses computer-controlled motors that are integrated with the gait orthosis at the hip and at the knee. They are synchronised with the speed of the treadmill, ensuring an exact match between the speed of the treadmill and the speed of the gait orthosis, and a comfortable training experience for the patient. The gait orthoses can be adjusted to fit the patient's anatomy. They can even be adapted to assist with the training of small children, who can exercise using pediatric orthoses.

Patients are engaged in the exercises through the Augmented Performance Feedback, which offers instructive feedback in virtual environments. The virtual reality aspect of the system enhances patients' participation in the training session while the feedback function encourages and motivates them.

The assessment tools available with the Lokomat include L-WALK, which allows therapists to compare the patient's endurance over several sessions, L-ROM, which measures a range of motion, and L-STIFF, which tracks the mechanical stiffness of the patient's joints.

Hocoma launched a more compact version of the Lokomat, the LokomatNanos, in 2010. Both versions can assist with training and can be used in the treatment of both ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients. The LokomatNanos was created to fit into smaller rooms, but it nonetheless provides all the essential features necessary for robotic gait training, including visualised performance feedback to help with monitoring and patient engagement.

To see the LokomatPro in action, watch the video.

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