Technological innovations for improving the lives of children and youth with CP, including research into robotic and exoskeleton gait and upper limb training.
This work centres around the use of robotic gait training or mobility technology to enrich the lives of children. A pilot study has been completed which evaluated the feasibility of in-home use of the Trexo robotic gait trainer facilitated by parents, along with a parent-led physical therapy program. The research team is continuing to work nationally and internationally to design new studies to look at the use of the Trexo in other populations as well as other locations in our community.
The aim of this project was to develop a mobile rehabilitation prototype that would meet the needs of youth with CP and assess whether this prototype would promote and facilitate safe foot placement and prevent gait scissoring.
The Pediatric Lokomat gait trainer is a robotic therapy aimed at improving walking and gross motor function in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). This project evaluated whether robotic therapy could lead to neuroplastic changes in the brain and improve clinical gross motor or gait outcomes.
This project aimed to use robotic technology, in the form of the KINARM Exoskeleton Robot, to measure proprioceptive function (figuring out where the body part is in space) in children with hemiplegic CP.