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ZeroG Gait & Balance training technology at Mary Free Bed

Source: Mary Free Bed

Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital becomes the first hospital in the Midwest to acquire a ZeroG Version 2. This new technology aids patients in gait and balance activities while they still have the safety of being protected by falls. Patient Todd VanZantwick used ZeroG to jog half a dozen paces down the hallway three weeks after he began his physical therapy. VanZantwick was among the first patients to benefit from ZeroG, Mary Free Bed’s new and sophisticated gait and balance training system. It gave VanZantwick the confidence to push himself harder because he knew he wouldn’t fall.

“There’s no way we could have attempted that without this equipment,” Mary Free Bed physical therapy Kristy Simpson said of VanZantwick’s brief run. “Now, we can be more aggressive, because the risk of fall is almost eliminated. And the more aggressive we can be, the more function the patient will recover.

ZeroG is a machine that runs along 85 feet of ceiling-mounted track on the fourth floor of Mary Free Bed’s new hospital in Grand Rapids.

Mary Free Bed Hall walk

ZeroG provides “dynamic” support. Once a patient is trapped into the harness, a therapist can program the machine to provide a certain amount of constant physical support and to “catch” the patient if he or she ventures out of the designated parameters. ZeroG gave VanZantwick the support and leeway to jump and move from side to side, but once he strayed too far or moved too quickly, signaling the machine he might be falling, the ZeroG Harness strap would lock to prevent him from taking a tumble.

 

Patient Terry Carter is rehabilitating from a spinal cord injury and broken hip. ZeroG provided support as he attempted to step up onto a stool. He also worked on standing from a seated position – without fear he would tumble forward onto the floor. Carter even enjoyed a game of Tetris on ZeroG’s touchscreen by working to control and stack the blocks by jumping or moving his body from left to right.

Mary Free Bed ZeroG Games

 

“If we have to concentrate on keeping a patient from falling, it’s difficult to also focus on the muscles they’re using and how to best help them improve their walking skills”, Simpson said.

Motor learning strategies applied to neurorehabilitation

Source:  Kessler Foundation

Dr. Joe Hidler, CEO of Aretech and inventor of the ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System discusses the research he and colleagues have done which has served as the catalyst as to why ZeroG was developed. This podcast was hosted by the Northern New Jersey Spinal Injury System with support from the National Institute on disability and Rehabilitation Research. US Department of Education grant H133N110020.

Dr. Hidler explains that one of his favorite quotes in relation to motor learning comes from John Krakauer, M.A., M.D., “Rehabilitation needs to emphasis techniques that promote the formation of an appropriate internal model and not just the repetition of movements.”  Dr. Hidler describes how movements occur using internal model formations which start at birth and continue into adulthood. How does this work in stroke patients who have been using their internal models their entire life which now no longer are appropriate? Everything changes so now there is inefficient motor control.

Error signals are very important in the learning process. The variability of tasks and the task variability in the acquisition phase is very important and improves performance in subsequent sessions in the generalizing of learning new tasks. The ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System differs from other robotic rehabilitation systems which move the limbs for the patient. ZeroG builds on the basics of motor learning and motor control strategies to help progress patients while learning variability of tasks.

Aretech to showcase ZeroG at APTA-CSM

Source: PR Web

Aretech is showcasing Version 2 of the ZeroG Gait and Balance System at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana February 4-7. ZeroG contains many unique features, not found in similar systems which present a significant advancement to therapists in the treatment options for their patients in gait, balance and practicing functional activities.

Aretech’s ZeroG is the only robotic overground system using dynamic body-weight support that has interactive balance programs with biofeedback, interactive games played through movements, dynamic fall recovery, treadmill integration and custom harnesses with shaping handles.

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Advantages of Using ZeroG

  •     Safely treat the widest range of patients, with the widest range of diagnoses, across the widest range of activities.
  •     Patients can safely begin their walking therapy early after neurological and orthopedic injuries, with early and intensive therapy being the most effective at promoting recovery.
  •     Therapy intensity can be modulated with dynamic body-weight support.
  •     Biofeedback motivates and cues patients.
  •     Lowers the risk of injury to patients and therapists.
  •     A single therapist can train even the largest, most impaired patients.
  •     Functional activities such as obstacle avoidance, sit-to-stand, floor transfers and stairs can be practiced safely.
  •     Monitor and track performance and functional progress.

ZeroG has the highest performance, safety and quality in its class with new features to help patients in achieving optimal recovery outcomes.

Patients at Children’s Specialized Hospital Use ZeroG for Optimal Recovery Outcomes

Source: Childrens Specialized

Pediatric patients recovering from a spinal cord injury, brain injury or stroke at Children’s Specialized Hospital now have access to ZeroG, cutting edge balance and gait training system that helps patients to walk again. Here at Children’s Specialized Hospital, we include ZeroG in our intensive pediatric rehabilitation hospital program, making us one of only two children’s hospitals in the country to offer the device.

The ZeroG is our newest addition to our therapy program, but our highly skilled team utilizes many other treatments for children with spinal cord dysfunction, stroke and brain injury.

Our outcomes and recovery rate for our brain injury, spinal cord and stroke patients far surpass the national average of similar institutions.  According to 2013 pediatric functional independence measure (WeeFIM).

  • Stroke and spinal cord injury patients had a significantly more successful recovery than the average outcomes of similar facilities nationwide
  • Stroke: average change rate score of 58.1% vs 34.9%.
  • Spinal cord: average change rate score of 55.3% vs 33.9%
  • Traumatic brain injury patients have significantly more successful recovery rates than national average of similar
  • Change rate scores 83.6% vs. 64.3% national average, a 19.3% difference

More About ZeroG
The dynamic body weight support harness provides training for standing, sitting, and walking. It is used for a wide range of patients with all levels of acquired, traumatic, and congenital spinal cord dysfunction, including children with:

  • Guillain-Barré syndrome
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Stroke and spinal stroke
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Paralysis
  • Incomplete spinal cord injury

There are many benefits to training with ZeroG:

  • Patients can begin physical therapy earlier in their treatment, a factor associated with enhanced outcomes.
  • The body-weight device allows for partial compensation of spasticity, abnormal coordination, and weakness.
  • There is nothing on the floor, so patients can practice on stairs and uneven ground, train for sit-to-stand motions, and use assistive devices if necessary.
  • The device offers security, so patients may not develop compensatory strategies.
  • Therapists can assess and track a patient’s recovery.

Additional therapy treatments may include:

  • FES cycling
  • Upper and lower extremity electrical stimulation
  • Custom bracing (some with built-in electrical stimulation)
  • Treadmill training

Each patient’s treatment plan combines a vigorous rehabilitation program with comprehensive medical and nursing care.

Of course, we understand that dealing with a spinal cord injury can be a stressful ordeal, even with the best care. So, to help our patients adjust as they recover from their injury, the team also provides community integration trips, school visits, and home evaluations to ensure a smooth transition to home and school.

Aretech Releases ZeroG Version 2

Aretech announced today it has released Version 2 (V.2) of the ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System, which was unveiled last week at the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting in Las Vegas, NV. ZeroG V.2 has the same safety, quality and proven performance1 as the previous version of ZeroG with added innovative features which are the first of their kind in the rehabilitation field. Some of the new features include an anticipatory balance program with biofeedback, the integration of Google GlassTM, larger patient capacity, a smaller and more responsive trolley that supports higher walking speeds, tools for researchers, expanded data recording and enhanced treadmill integration.

About the ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System

ZeroG, invented by Aretech CEO, Dr. Joe Hidler, provides patients dynamic body-weight support as they practice walking, balance activities, and other Activities of Daily Living with simultaneous fall protection. With fully integrated Woodway treadmill controls in the ZeroG software, patients can also practice treadmill-based gait training. ZeroG monitors important information at more than 1,000 times per second, so that if a fall is detected, the system can safely catch the patient. And because its trolley rides on a customized ceiling track, there are no barriers between the therapist and the patient. This truly encourages patient-therapist interaction. With a press of a button on a touchscreen computer or wirelessly on a Google NexusTM tablet, therapists can adjust the amount of body-weight support, fall distance, and other parameters in order to modulate the intensity and complexity of each training session. Aretech’s ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System is listed with the Food and Drug Administration and is certified to safety standard IEC 60601-1, 3rd edition.

ZeroG exercise band

Advantages of Using ZeroG

  • Patients can safely begin their walking therapy early after neurological and orthopedic injuries, with early and intensive therapy being key factors related to the recovery of walking in neurological injuries2.
  • The system provides the highest level of safety to the patient, removing the potential for a fall. ZeroG also reduces the risk of injuries to therapists.
  • Balance activities with biofeedback can be practiced safely with fall protection and dynamic body-weight support.
  • A single therapist can train even the largest, most impaired patients.
  • Since the system is ceiling mounted, subjects can practice obstacles such as stairs and uneven terrain, practice sit to stand tasks, and can use assistive devices.
  • ZeroG records training parameters such as patient walking distance, number of falls prevented, min & max body-weight support, and many others. This information can be used to track a patient’s recovery.
  • With fully integrated Woodway treadmill controls, therapists can control all aspects of the training session through a single touch screen interface and can monitor treadmill training parameters such as distance walked, treadmill speed and more.

ZeroG technology at Froedtert helps patients develop confidence

Source: Fox 6

Imagine having a headache, and the next thing you know you are in the hospital, having to learn basics like walking again. That’s the reality Joan Schacht woke up to.

“Everything’s changed now,” said Joan Schacht. Just a few weeks ago, Joan was an active 68 year old woman, used to doing everything on her own. But then in an instant everything changed. “Next thing I know I am in the hospital and I woke up and my head was all cut open,” said Joan. She woke up at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin and was told she had had a stroke. Joan went from doing things on her own to needing help- with everything. “I have to depend on other people to help me do things and watch me walk so I don`t fall and just everything I do has to be watched,” said Joan. And on top of that, Joan didn’t know how or if things would ever go back to normal. She didn’t know if she would ever walk again.

But then her physical therapist, Cheryl Vorwald introduced her to the ZeroG Overground Gait and Balance Training System. ZeroG is a robotic training system that holds up to 50 percent of the patient’s body weight to help them walk and learn how to balance again. “It was like a miracle to just get in that machine and walk along. You could walk, you could hop, you could skip,” remembered Joan of the first time she used it.

The patient is in a harness, which is attached to a 75-foot overhead track on the ceiling. The system makes up to 1,200 adjustments per second, and detects if patients start to fall and catches them to prevent injury.

Froedtert ZeroG

“The first time you are afraid you are going to fall and crack your head open or something but then it catches you and you don’t fall,” said Joan. It also allows her personal trainer Cheryl to be a lot more hands on. The standard method without the system involves the physical therapist holding a gait belt while the patient practices walking. It ends up being more “artificial” that working with the ZeroG.

“When I take them and I can step back, they build that confidence and realize I am doing this on my own. The confidence and then their willingness to try other things increases and we can challenge them even further,” said Vorwald.

Froedtert Hospital has had this technology for about a year now. The money to purchase the system was donated to the Froedtert Hospital Foundation by the family of a patient who is deceased. Cheryl can see the difference the system has made in her patients, like Joan. Joan notices the changes it has made in her as well, both physically and mentally.

“You have control of your life again,” said Joan.

Centre for Neuro Skills enhances patient rehabilitation with new ZeroG Gait and Balance System

Source: Centre for Neuro Skills

A revolutionary system that helps people with neurologic injuries to practice walking and improve balance has been introduced at Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS). The ZeroG® Gait and Balance System combines body weight support mechanics with a robust user interface that records data and patient progress in real-time. CNS is the first postacute facility west of the Rockies to use this advanced technology.

ZeroG over treadmill

“ZeroG® provides functional, real-world ambulation, yet prevents the patient from running, falling or being injured,” said CNS founder and CEO Dr. Mark J. Ashley, Sc.D., CBIST. “This is a remarkable asset for CNS, as the interface is customizable for traumatic brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injuries and for a broad array of users, from pediatric to elderly patients.”

Its innovative design allows patients with severe to minimal gait impairments to practice ambulation and balance. The patient walks in a secure harness, assisted by a therapist. A 75-foot long ceiling-mounted track and trolley system can be adjusted for support, independent movement, and walking speed.

Each patient’s experience is recorded by the system’s computer, which captures data in real-time. Results can be shared with case managers, physicians, family members and insurers. Outcomes on ambulation distance, speed, balance, and disruptions (would-be falls) help all those involved with the patient to measure progress.

ZeroG iPad

Operation is controlled through a touch screen computer or wirelessly, via iPod and iPad. ZeroG® is designed for the real-life demands of climbing stairs, standing, navigating terrain, sitting and getting off the floor. The system’s body weight support component allows for partial compensation of weakness, spasticity, and abnormal coordination. Such refinements enable patients to practice at high-intensity levels soon after neurologic injuries – factors shown to be related to enhanced outcomes (DeJong et al., 2005; Horn et al., 2005).

To help guide therapists with training ideas, the Activity Library (a large repository of videos) shows patients performing various activities in ZeroG®. Therapists can use the library as a reference for selecting movements appropriate for the patient. Videos can also be played for the patient prior to trying an activity, allowing the therapist to review the goals they want to achieve. Presently, the system is available at CNS’ flagship Bakersfield, California, clinical facility. It is the company goal to place ZeroG® in the Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco locations as well.

Aretech is selling the ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System direct

Source: PR Web

Aretech announced today it will be selling its product line directly to customers, including the ZeroG Gait and Balance System. ZeroG was developed by Joe Hidler, PhD in collaboration with team of physical therapists and scientists worldwide, and is currently being used in centers in the United States and Canada.

“As the inventor of ZeroG, it is so humbling to see the technology I conjured up on the back of a cocktail napkin back in 2004 now being used by the leading rehabilitation centers in the United States and Canada. Well over 1,000 patients have used ZeroG during their rehabilitation and nothing brings me more satisfaction than hearing about how much they loved using the system,” said Dr. Joe Hidler, CEO of Aretech.

Aretech’s ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System, which is listed with the Food and Drug Administration, is one of the most advanced rehabilitation systems in the world. Using a patented robotic technology, ZeroG provides patients body-weight support as they practice walking, balance activities, and other Activities of Daily Living. The system monitors important information about the patient at more than 1,000 times per second, so that if a fall is detected, ZeroG can safely catch them.

And because the body-weight support system is mounted to a motorized trolley that rides on a customized overhead track, there are no barriers between the therapist and the patient. This truly encourages patient-therapist interaction. With a press of a button on a touchscreen computer or on an Apple iPad or iPod Touch, therapists can adjust the amount of body-weight support, patient fall distance, and safe walking speed in order to modulate the intensity and complexity of each training session.

Aretech’s ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System at Seton Brain and Spine Recovery Center

Source: Newsroom Ink

On Memorial Day in 2007, Daniel Curtis slipped while diving into his backyard pool and shattered his 6th vertical vertebrae. After spending 10 days in the ICU, he began his road to recovery. Daniel came to Seton Brain and Spine in Austin, TX where he’s been regaining mobility in part by his determination and help from Aretech’s ZeroG Gait and Balance Training System.

ZeroG allows Daniel to go beyond the typical limits to practice crawling, getting up from the floor, stand, balance and walk. The dynamic body-weight support helps assist him during activities while gaining his independence back. Training reports also allow Daniel to see how he’s progressed over time such as levels of body-weight support and number of falls.

Shriners Philadelphia adds ZeroG to their therapy program

Source: Shriners International

After a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), most patients and families list walking as one of their top goals of rehabilitation. Twenty years ago, SCI typically meant a patient had to use a wheelchair. Treatment options were very limited and rarely helped with standing and walking. Thankfully, advancements in science and therapy now provide higher hopes for healing.

Shriners Hospitals for Children® — Philadelphia now has the ZeroG Overground Gait and Balance Training System available for patients. This system supports a patient’s body weight and can be used in many ways. Unlike other systems that can only be used on a treadmill, the ZeroG system can also be used over the ground, on a therapy mat, and even for transfer and fall prevention training.

The ZeroG system is mounted to a driven trolley, which rides along an overhead track. Patients put on a special harness, which is connected to a cable that attaches to the trolley. The system can provide up to 300 pounds of static support and 150 pounds of dynamic support. It allows patients with severe gait impairments to practice walking and balance activities in a safe and controlled way.

ZeroG will allow patients at Shriners Philadelphia to practice a variety of activities to help them achieve functional independence at home and in their communities. The Philadelphia hospital is the first in the Shriners Hospitals for Children system and the first hospital in the city of Philadelphia to have ZeroG.