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Case Reports: Novel treatment (new drug/interventions; established drug/procedure in new situation)
Novel use of robot-assisted gait rehabilitation in a patient with stroke and blindness
  1. Jin Rui Edmund Neo1,
  2. Christine Alejandro Visperas1,
  3. Melvin Peng Hwee Tan2 and
  4. San San Tay1
  1. 1Rehabilitation Medicine, Changi General Hospital, Singapore
  2. 2Rehabilitative Services, Changi General Hospital, Singapore
  1. Correspondence to Dr San San Tay; taysansan{at}yahoo.com

Abstract

Robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) is an effective adjunctive treatment for patients with stroke that helps to regain functional mobility and is applied in many rehabilitation units for poststroke neurorecovery. We discuss our successful attempt to apply RAGT in a patient with blindness that impeded his ability to maintain balance during gait training. He initially required two assistants to walk, but after undergoing conventional therapy with adjunctive RAGT, he improved to standby assistance for ambulation. There were also improvements in balance, activity tolerance and quality of life. Low-or-no vision states can affect the pace of recovery poststroke, but RAGT and conventional physiotherapy can possibly be combined in such patients to improve balance and motor outcomes. The Andago robot’s safety features of weight support, harnessed suspension and walking mode selection supported our decision and enabled us to apply it safely for this patient.

  • Stroke
  • Rehabilitation medicine
  • Physiotherapy (rehabilitation)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2023-255457

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors The following authors were responsible for drafting of the text, sourcing and editing of clinical images, investigation results, drawing original diagrams and algorithms, and critical revision for important intellectual content: JREN, MPHT, CAV and SST. The following authors gave final approval of the manuscript: JREN, MPHT, CAV and SST.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.