Robots are assisting in the rehabilitation of patients with neurological injuries at the University of Szeged (SZTE) in a human kinesiology laboratory built with an investment of approximately 1 billion forints (2.6 million euros), announced Csaba Lengyel, president of the SZTE Clinical Center, on Thursday. At the laboratory’s opening ceremony, the professor said that robot technology opens up new horizons in rehabilitation care and personalized patient care. The devices enable the execution of very precise, repeatable movements, which aid effective, individual development. This is especially true if the patient has suffered some kind of neurological injury that affects their motor coordination. Movement rehabilitation can give patients back the possibility of a full life and freedom, the expert emphasized. The lab plays an important role in training students, but it also provides opportunities for research, the president said.
Péter Cserháti, president of the Hungarian Rehabilitation Society, explained that the rehabilitation profession is trying to respond to changes in healthcare in order to ensure the highest possible standard of living for patients. Rehabilitation departments are taking on patients much earlier and trying to get them through the recovery process much faster, said the expert, who also heads the Rehabilitation Clinic at Semmelweis University. As an example, he mentioned a device used for patients with spinal cord injuries, which helps them stand up and transfer to a wheelchair within the first few weeks, saving two months of nursing time. Gábor Fazekas, head of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Szeged, said that some of the equipment in the lab helps patients with poorer functional status to perform movements by taking the load off them, while other devices allow patients to use their own muscle strength entirely. A treadmill-like device helps patients relearn how to walk by projecting a landscape onto a screen in front of them or using light signals to show them where to step and what obstacles to avoid. Music also helps patients follow the rhythm of walking, which is useful not only in cases of neurological diseases but also in the care of severely visually impaired patients, the professor said.
A device similar to an exercise bike is also used to improve movement coordination and muscle strength, with the amount of force required per pedal stroke being adjustable. An exoskeleton, which partially relieves the load on the limbs and resembles an external skeleton, also helps patients relearn how to walk, the expert said. In the case of the upper limbs, devices connected to screens are also used, some of which assist in the fine motor movements of the fingers, while others are used to practice the use of the shoulders and elbows by having patients perform various tasks, said the professor.
Robot-assisted exercises can also be used to improve cognitive functions, including in patients who do not respond to stimuli coming from the left side, the professor noted.
Source: Hungary Today
