The robotic gym of the Montecatone Institute, in the Imola area, was inaugurated this afternoon: 120 square meters which – the structure underlines – “will allow to further increase the intensity of treatments, to propose increasingly stimulating and motivating scenarios for the patient, create customized protocols and, finally, to objectively measure the responses, improving the result of each rehabilitation process. An important project and an equally significant investment, equal to about 250 thousand euros, which is added to that of 2 million euros, always supported by Montecatone RI, for the technological adaptation of radiology – equipped with a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance and a 64 strat “i CT scan.
“Rehabilitation supported by the use of robotic systems – they add – entails numerous advantages, such as allowing more intensive, specific and appropriate performance. To it is associated that of high flexibility of application: the solutions can be easily integrated into situations of everyday life, making the treatment motivating and varied, also opening the way to the creation of new rehabilitation exercises, not feasible with traditional methods “.
In fact, robotic devices allow impossible movements without their support such as, for example, exoskeletons that allow people, who otherwise could not, to walk. Thanks to the visual, auditory and kinesthetic feedback exchanged with the patient during the exercises, robotic rehabilitation also has a positive effect on a psychological level and increases the patient’s compliance with rehabilitation therapy.
Antonio Dongellini, President of CISM, the company that has carried out most of the planned construction works with its own workers, spoke of “an important milestone because it represents the completion of a project in which the company has put its multi-sectoriality and its skills in the hospital sector, in both construction and plant engineering “
Sfide future
Further commitment, in the near future, will be directed in three directions: to the functional recovery of the upper limb – one of the major challenges in the rehabilitation field since it is closely related to the level of autonomy and quality of life – path for which the therapy robotics has been suggested not only as a tool to provide patients with repetition enhancement, but adds the aspect of virtual reality that simulates real-life activities, provides and encourages feedback, and could motivate patients to endure more intensive workouts; a second focus will be on trunk control.
“In fact, one of the first rehabilitation objectives – they still stress from the structure – is the achievement of the seated position in the wheelchair. To do this, it is necessary to improve the control of the trunk which is also preparatory to any other activity aimed at developing autonomy. the use of robotics allows to work in an integrated and objective way, supporting the physiotherapist in achieving the objectives of core stability, fundamental for the person with brain injury and motor myelic both complete and incomplete “.
The third objective, finally, will be the constant implementation of the equipment for gait training both from a diagnostic point of view (dynamic EMG, Gait Analysis with inertial sensors and with a system of cameras and platforms for the detection of kinetic forces) and rehabilitation by staying updated on the panorama of exoskeletons and their software evolutions.
Equipment supplied to the robotic gym
HUNOVA: programmable robotic medical device consisting of two electromechanical platforms with two degrees of freedom, one at the level of the feet and one at the level of the seat. Used to work on the balance and on the strengthening of the trunk while sitting, for the proprioceptive in bipedal and monopodalic upright position; passive, active mobilization and reinforcement of the ankle.
DIEGO: multidimensional robotic system for unilateral or bilateral upper limb rehabilitation; allows you to work with relieving the weight of the arms, leaving the therapist the choice between performing rehabilitation tasks using real objects or interacting with virtual reality games.
PABLO: device for the evaluation and rehabilitation of the grip and extension force of the hand and of the multiple articular ranges of the upper limb. Through the choice of customizable rehabilitation exercises, it is possible to try your hand at engaging interactive and cognitive therapies; it also has special accessories and new wireless sensors that can be applied to any part of the body (at the level of the ankle joint, for example, allowing gait reports) and that communicate with the software via bluetooth.
TYMO: an easily accessible static / dynamic wireless platform for the evaluation and rehabilitation of postural control. It can be used in an upright position, resting on the table or in a sitting position: thanks to various interactive and cognitive therapies, it possesses the requisites for recovery and improvement of balance and postural control. By adding an element in its lower part, it becomes an unstable platform, which allows you to evaluate and treat balance problems.
MOTION ANALYSIS: movement analysis laboratory it is possible to perform an assessment of the locomotor pattern, both of the upper and lower limbs, and investigate more accurately the alterations of tone and establish, in the presence of spasticity, the most suitable treatment indicated (focal or surgical).
EKSO: battery-powered, wearable bionic device that allows patients with complete or partial motor deficit in the lower limbs to stand up and walk on flat surfaces with the support of a walker or two crutches. This device has only a rehabilitative purpose and not a vicariant of function.