The Yalta rehabilitation department of the FMBA of Russia now has the ExoAtlet-II exoskeleton

The exoskeleton is intended for social adaptation of patients with impaired locomotion of the lower extremities. It simulates gait and stimulates muscles with electrical current while walking. When exercising on such a smart simulator, new neural connections are formed in the patient’s brain, due to which motor function is restored,” notes Sergei Krenev, a representative of the developer company.

Before placing the patient in the equipment, the instructor-methodologist measures the length of the thighs, legs, width of the pelvis and seating depth. The exoskeleton is then adjusted to the patient’s parameters. In order for the human body to be securely fixed, the legs and thighs are fixed with special splints, the pelvis is supported with the help of a seat belt, the body is held in place by a corset, and the shoulder girdle is secured with straps. Then the instructor-methodologist starts the program, and the exoskeleton begins to walk — in place, on a flat plane, along steps or an uneven surface. And the patient walks with him.

With the help of this smart simulator, walking skills are restored. Exercises on an exoskeleton are indicated for patients after injuries, strokes, neurosurgical operations, leg amputation, people with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy, after traumatic brain injuries — after any diseases when a person has impaired motor activity of the lower extremitiessays Ekaterina Ostrer, head of the rehabilitation department of the YMMTC FMBA of Russia.

Depending on the severity of the disease and the patient’s well-being, the duration of the training is determined and the walking program is set.

Initially, the device is controlled by an instructor using a special tablet and buttons located in the exoskeleton support handles. A second employee of the rehabilitation department insures the patient from the front. Then the classes are performed with one instructor, and when the patient masters the equipment, he is given a crutch with control buttons on the handle.

This type of simulator can be used by people with a height of 150 to 190 centimeters, and the maximum weight is 110 kilograms.

The medical rehabilitation department of the YMMTC FMBA of Russia was opened in April last year from scratch, we are trying to equip it with the most modern simulators and devices. We recently purchased a special table for developing fine motor skills, an exoskeleton arrived this week, and by the end of the year we will receive a lot more new equipment. We are expanding our capabilities for patient rehabilitation. The work in the rehabilitation department is well established — this is the second stage, the volume of assistance is increasing at the third stage, in the outpatient department. Nursing staff and doctors are being retrained, and the range of procedures provided is expanding. Now our main task is to ensure high-quality rehabilitation at the first stage, when a multidisciplinary team will work on the day patients are admitted in the departments of neurosurgery, neurology, and intensive care,” notes Olga Eremina, head of the YMMC FMBA of Russia.

source: press service of the Yalta administration