Unique robotic technology helps Good Samaritan patients learn to walk again

Physical therapist Noelle Buell has a running joke with her patient, Mike Sebastian.

When Sebastian is harnessed up in the new ZeroG Gait & Balance System at Good Samaritan Hospital, he can see himself in a floor-to-ceiling mirror along the wall. If he stumbles or falls while he walks, he’s not allowed to touch it.

“Remember, if you touch the mirror, you’ve got to clean it,” Noelle joked at a physical therapy session with Sebastian on July 11.

“All right, well, I’m going to need a hot washcloth and some Windex or something,” Sebastian replied.

Buell has been working with Sebastian for two years, after the 35-year-old suffered a stroke on his spinal cord, leaving him with no feeling in his legs. When he came to Good Sam, he was part of the inpatient unit and over time slowly gained back the strength in his legs.

Getting over the fear of falling during physical therapy is a difficult hurdle for many of her patients, Buell said.

Luckily, physical therapists say a new unique robotics system installed at Good Sam earlier this year is doing a lot to help ease the minds of their patients.

The machine

Created by company Aretech, which stands for Advanced Rehabilitation Technologies, the ZeroG Gait & Balance System is a robotic body-weight support system set on a track and controlled by a computer. Patients of all ages who have experienced strokes, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, amputations or orthopedic injuries can use it.

The one at Good Samaritan is the only one of its kind in the state.

“We’re always looking for new technology,” Good Sam rehabilitation therapy manager Jacob Woolman said. When staff saw the machine, they said, “We’ve got to have it.”

The ZeroG Gait system came with a $250,000 price tag, but the funds were covered by a Creating Opportunity and Independence Project Grant given by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, which supports spinal cord injury research.

Two tracks were installed at the hospital in March but weren’t used until May. Now, Buell uses the system with about eight of her patients, starting by placing them in a harness connected to the machine, which aids in walking, running, jumping and other balance activities.

“Besides my girdle, it feels good,” Sebastian said. “I feel fully supported with the harness. It might be a little uncomfortable at first, especially with all the pressure in the core areas, but other than that it feels good.”

The machine’s computer controls how many inches it’ll let a patient fall before it catches them. The system can hold up to 450 pounds.

“I can also have a velocity set, meaning that if I’m doing something that’s higher activity like running or jumping, the machine will only let the rope go out so many feet per second, so if he’s falling fast, it’ll stop him,” Buell explained.

Helping patients and doctors

The technology makes it easier for both patients and physical therapists to do their jobs. Before, it was often just physical therapists holding their patients up — and catching them if they fell.

“When I was walking with (Sebastian), I’d have to be holding onto him, and I can’t see everything that’s going on because I’m so close,” Buell said. “We were kind of running in the hallway, and I’d have to hold on to him. And it’s scary for me — it’s just a little sketchy at times.”

Buell added that she wished she’d had the machine for her patients sooner. When she started working with Sebastian, they began with a walker, then canes and sticks.

“My experience with this machine has been awesome,” Sebastian said. “Noelle is able to actually see what I’m doing. She can actually critique me more.”

Physical therapists at Good Sam believe the dynamic system will give patients peace of mind and reduce fears of falling, helping them to complete tasks quicker.

“It’s really helpful for me as a therapist,” Buell said. “(Sebastian) feels safer because he knows that even if he were to completely go limp and pass out, he’s going to be fine. And that helps a lot with (his) confidence.”

“I think it’ll just open up the opportunity to do more in physical therapy,” Woolman said. “I think sometimes we’re limited by the number of hands we have and ... what we can lift and what we can support on our own.”