This week was the 3rd Annual Rehabilitation Therapy Services Clinical Showcase at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Medical professionals and students from all fields of rehab gathered together to share the latest research from their settings. It was exciting to see such fantastic and revolutionary posters from my colleagues and to engage in discussions about the future of rehab.
I was particularly drawn to the “new technology” section where I got to try the eye gaze technology for allowing patients who cannot speak to communicate (by looking at words on a screen!!) and experimented with the use of iPads in the Medical Intensive Care Unit…. But then I got to play with a ROBOT!
Alright, we aren’t that far in the future… but the implications for the use robotic technology for rehab is awesome. This particular machine, The Armeo Spring helps patients recover the ability to grasp and reach using the aide of a robotic arm and some pretty fun computer games:
It was a little obvious when the therapist said:
“It is AMAZING the compliance patients have when using this machine, they always complete all their repetitions and sometimes even ask for more! When we do standard exercise I can hardly get them to do half”
WELL DUH!
Who wouldn’t want to play with a sweet robot that is helping them get better! ?
A Cup A Day 