Robo-Therapist

Over the past several years, we have reported on a number of assistive devices to help victims of strokes or spinal injuries to regain movement. Many of these devices act to support a person’s weight, but do little to relearn correct posture and gait. Now a system developed in Switzerland uses artificial intelligence (AI) to offer individualized treatment and improve a patient’s ability to walk normally.

The RYSEN system combines a supportive harness with a neural network to monitor leg movement, stride patterns and muscle activity. An AI algorithm determines the optimal amount of support needed to help rebuild muscle mass while deciding how much force is necessary to produce a natural gait. By pushing people forward and backward, or side to side, the system helps retrain their brains to regain a balance between gravity and forward motion.

Tests have shown that after single, one-hour sessions with the harnesses, spinal cord injury subjects showed improvement in their gaits outside of the harnesses. The developers intend to commercialize the device following additional clinical trials.