Indication of Gait Exercise Assist Robot in sub-acute hemiplegic stroke patients

Abstract

The Gait Exercise Assist Robot (GEAR) is a robot assisting gait exercise for reconstruction of gait in a hemiplegic stroke patient. In this study, we investigated the adaptation of GEAR based on the attributes and gait ability of subacute hemiplegic stroke patients who underwent gait exercise using GEAR (GEAR exercise). The subjects were 21 patients and we divided them into 2 groups according to gait ability at the end of the GEAR exercise : attainment group (independence or supervision, n=15) and non-attainment group (assistance, n=6). In comparison of the attributes between the two groups, days after onset, SIAS abdominal muscles and FIM memory showed significant differences (p=0.03 to 0.04). In addition, for the attributes showing significant differences, as a result of discriminant analysis conducted using gait ability at the end of the GEAR exercise as the dependent variable, SIAS abdominal had the most influence. Investigation of the adaptation of GEAR is considered to be useful for the prediction of gait ability in subacute hemiplegic stroke patients.