Rehabilitation Technology Services

Some of the technologies provided throughout the Spaulding Network include:

• Robot-Aided Rehabilitation, including the Armeo and the Lokomat. The Armeo is a robotic device that uses functional, task specific therapy with visual feedback, using highly sensitive weight support to reduce gravity, allowing you to use your upper extremities in a wide range of movement, even if you have limited use of your arm. The Lokomat is the first driven gait orthotic that assists walking movements of gait-impaired patients. It is used to improve mobility following stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis or other neurological diseases and injuries.
• Partial Body Weight Supported Treadmill, such as the Litegait. The LiteGait is a device that controls weight bearing, posture, and balance over a treadmill or over ground. It provides proper posture, reduces weight bearing, eliminates concerns of falling, and facilitates the training of coordinated lower extremity movement while allowing the clinician to manually assist movement in your legs and pelvis to achieve proper gait patterns.
• The Erigo combines the use of a traditional tilt table with weight bearing and range of motion. The goal of the Erigo is to help prepare you for sitting in a wheelchair or standing activities.
• Pressure Mapping Technology is used to visually assess pressure patterns to reduce skin breakdown and develop proper seating systems for our patients in wheelchairs and in bed. This technology allows for clinicians to visually assess your pressure patterns and to develop, adjust, and implement pressure-relieving solutions before skin breakdown occurs.
• Motomed Movement Therapy System is used for patients with paralysis, spasticity, and physical weakness. The Motomed allows you to gently maintain flexibility, counteract the consequence of inactivity, reduce spasticity, build up muscle strength, and promote walking ability.
• Therapeutic Electrical Stimulation, including the Bioness L300, the Bioness H200, and the VitalStim. The Bioness L300 is a functional electrical stimulation system designed to help patients with neurological disorders affecting the lower extremities, specifically the foot. It is designed to stimulate your muscles, prevent atrophy and promote a more natural walking pattern. The Bioness H200 helps patients with upper-limb paralysis regain hand control. The H200 is used for exercise and functional activities, such as practicing grasping and releasing objects and performing activities in daily living. The VitalStim is used to treat dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, which often affects individuals who have had stroke. Vital Stimulation Therapy uses electrodes to strengthen and restore swallow function to improve quality of life.
• Integration of Adaptive Video Games, such as Wiihab, which is the medical application of interactive video gaming devices to augment physical, cognitive, and behavioral therapies under the guidance of a trained and licensed healthcare professional. Wiihab provides real-time visual and auditory feedback for motor task training to both you and your therapist. 
• Pressalit Systems are functional training environments that are adapted for your specific needs. Using the Pressalit system, therapists are able to adapt a living space to a yout needs, ranging from sink height and toilet height to various grab bars for safety.

Paolo Bonato, Ph.D., the Director of Spaulding Boston’s Motion Analysis Laboratory, is the Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, and Member of the Affiliated Faculty, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Dr. Bonato’s research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and private foundations. His projects are focused on gait and mobility impairments. He is developing techniques to overcome the challenges inherent in combining traditional, laboratory-based assessments with real-life observations performed via wearable technology in the home and community settings.

Dr. Bonato has conducted studies performed in the Motion Analysis Laboratory range from evaluating gait in children with cerebral palsy to support surgical and rehabilitation decisions.

Additionally, he has explored the building of biomechanical models of joint biomechanics for the design of novel prosthetic and orthotic devices that monitor exercise compliance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This assists the assessment of long-term responses to adjustments in medication intake in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Rehabilitation Technology Services are offered at these Spaulding locations:

Inpatient
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod
Spaulding North Shore

The following services are related to the Rehabilitation Technology Services at Spaulding.

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) Services
Assistive Technology Services
Speech-Language Pathology/ Voice Therapy
Stroke/Neurology Rehabilitation
Wheelchair/Seating Clinic