Rehab Tool to Help People with Spinal Cord or Brain Injuries
Published: Jun 28, 2007
Secure Ambulation Mode (S.A.M.), a physical therapy device to rehabilitate patients with spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries, is a product of Enduro Medical Technology. It is based on a technology developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
The device was donated to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. to facilitate rehabilitation for military patients and is already in use there. Positive results include a military patient who was once wheelchair bound, now walking up to 25 minutes everyday and exercising using the device to strengthen his leg.
As Enduro’s President Ken Messier says, “We felt S.A.M. would be an ideal fit for Walter Reed because it makes the rehabilitation process less taxing on both the patient and the medical staff.”
With S.A.M, patients can stand or walk either partially weight bearing, full weight bearing or non-weight bearing whether they have a sense of balance or not. They can stand without the usually required assistance of three or four therapists. “So it gets the patient up sooner in the rehab process without a fear of falling and without an injury to the patient or staff members,” according to Messier.Â
An earlier model walker device and a cable-compliant joint mechanism form part of the technology behind S.A.M. The compliant joint, unlike the fixed joint that moves in just two directions, allows subtle movement in six directions with variable degrees of stiffness. Enduro has, by adding the joint mechanism to the walker’s harness enabled better flexibility and a commercially viable product. Â
Source: FLC
