Evaluation of biomechanical gait parameters of patients with Cerebral Palsy at three different levels of gait assistance using the CPWalker.
Luis Felipe Aycardi, Carlos Andrés Cifuentes, Marcela Múnera and 5 others
PMID 30691493WHAT IT FOUND
Walking with the CPWalker robot slowed children down and shortened their stride compared to walking without it.
The device restricted movement, reducing speed and pelvic motion during use, with no immediate carryover to unassisted walking.
Key findings
01During the robot-assisted stage, gait speed dropped to 0.32 m/s and stride length to 0.94 m, compared to 1.21 m/s and 1.46 m when walking without the device.
02The authors attribute the reduced speed and stride to the robot's safety control strategy and the physical restriction of the exoskeleton structure.
03When patients walked again without the device after using it, their speed and stride length returned to baseline levels, showing no short-term improvement in unassisted gait.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only eight participants, making the results preliminary and not generalizable. The intervention lasted only one day, so long-term effects on gait recovery or neuroplasticity are unknown. The exoskeleton was passive during the trial, which may have contributed to the restriction of movement and reduced speed observed. The authors note that the robot's safety settings capped the speed, which directly caused the reduction in stride length and cadence compared to unassisted walking.
Declared interests
Funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. No conflicts of interest declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the significant statistical changes as clinical improvement. The differences show that the device restricted movement and slowed the children down during use, and these effects disappeared immediately when the device was removed.