Satisfaction analysis of overground gait exoskeletons in people with neurological pathology. a systematic review.
C Cumplido-Trasmonte, F Molina-Rueda, G Puyuelo-Quintana and 5 others
PMID 37072823WHAT IT FOUND
Across 23 studies, people with stroke, spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis reported generally positive satisfaction with overground gait exoskeletons, especially safety, efficacy and comfort.
Fitting, removal, weight, size and ease of use were the weakest points.
Key findings
01Participants’ satisfaction with overground exoskeletons was generally positive across stroke, SCI and MS studies, exceeding the average cut-off score in all questionnaires.
02The most positively rated features were safety, efficacy and comfort, while ease of adjustment and removal, size and weight, and ease of use were the worst evaluated.
03Only three studies assessed therapist satisfaction, and difficulties with donning and doffing appeared in all three.
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
Most included studies were non-randomized intervention studies, and only three randomized controlled trials were found. The methodological quality of the included studies was considered poor to moderate. Sample sizes varied and were small: SCI studies had 8.9 people, stroke studies 14.5 people, and MS studies 16.3 people. Satisfaction was measured with 14 different methods, and the review says there is no clear way to assess satisfaction with these devices. Some satisfaction questionnaires were developed by the company that made the exoskeleton or for a single study, which the review says could introduce bias. No included study assessed satisfaction in children or their parents. One included study did not provide satisfaction results.
Declared interests
Funder named: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC).
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as evidence that overground gait exoskeletons improve walking, spasticity, bowel regulation or breathing. The paper reports satisfaction perceptions, and the authors state that self-reported improvements were satisfaction questionnaire items, not efficacy outcomes assessed by professionals.