Technology is changing the way that Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network is
maximizing recovery for patients who have experienced a spinal cord injury,
stroke or other neurological condition. With the Ekso Bionic Exoskeleton and with
intense repetitive work overseen by specially trained therapists, some Good
Shepherd patients who were unable to walk or have difficulty walking are
making incredible progress in reawakening their brain signals to their
spine and legs. What the Ekso device does is it actually puts people in the right
biomechanical position and it takes the extremity through normal walking
patterns and it's able to repeat that precisely over and over and over again.
As a therapist, I cannot repeat a motion over and over again and get it exact. I
fatigue, I might move a little bit, so this device allows that constant
repetition to actually ingrain it in their brain and to feel that over and
over so it becomes normal to them again. One patient who has made amazing
progress is Kevin Old. About a decade ago, Kevin suffered a snowmobiling injury
that resulted in complete paralysis from the waist down.
Today Kevin is walking and has regained some lower body movement and increased
his strength from his rehabilitative use of the Ekso. When I first put it on, the
machine itself lifted me up out of my seat and stood me straight up. It was
great, think of the best sensation you ever had in your life and multiply that
by a million, that's exactly how I felt you know and then when I took my first
step, my second step, it was like I was walking on air
like someone took something from me and put it back in me again. Initially he was
on a tether and he was using a walker, now he's progressed to he can go all
over the building. He's walking with a loft string and crutches and now he is
powering the device himself through his body movement. I've been doing it 2 to 3
times a week and after 6 to 8 months then it became relatively easy for me to
walk around in my Ekso's and the therapist at Good Shepherd decided to
challenge me up a little bit. We had coffle leg braces made that break at the
knees that allow me to walk, keep my balance and break my knee and go forward
with my whole motion. It has also allowed him to gain so much more body awareness
where he isn't space which has improved his overall balance and he's doing ramps
and now he has movement in his hips, in his knees and he also has sensation from
his waist down to his knees which is amazing. Good Shepherd continues to be a
leader in the use of rehabilitation technology and became the first
rehabilitation facility in North America to offer Ekso with variable assist
software with the additional software the Ekso Suit is being used as a
rehabilitation tool for stroke patients with lower body paralysis or weakness.
And you can now set the device so that it is a powerful training tool so they
learn how to pattern their weaker side. You can make them use what they have and
have the device finish what they can't do so there's a lot more parameters you
can use to really push a patient to use as much of their own power as they can.
One woman who had a stroke needed a brace for her ankle in order to be able
to walk and she was walking very short distances and needed assistance.
She started in the Ekso and variable assist and now she doesn't use a
wheelchair, she's walking up to therapy, she's in biomechanical better position.
When you're not, you use a lot more energy and then you start to compensate
more. There is certain therapies out there that work, work well, make you feel
good, make you feel alive. Eleven years ago there was no thought of walking, today
believe me it's a possibility. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm not going to
walk and Good Shepherd is the one that put me on that path. Good Shepherd
Rehabilitation Network and leading-edge technology like the Ekso are making what
once seemed impossible very possible for people with disabilities. At Good
Shepherd each step forward represents the new reality of maximizing recovery.