A small hospital in rural Sunshine Coast is ushering in a new era of rehabilitation in southwestern Queensland by using a suite of game and virtual reality devices to treat patients.
Key points:
- Eden Private Hospital uses four high-tech robots to treat patients with brain diseases
- Dr Phoebe Slape says the technology provides more treatment to patients over a shorter period of time
- The robotics rehabilitation program sees good results in patients with stroke who had the progression to recover
Doctors and patients say the complete “robotics replacement” program is getting good results in patients who have not progressed with traditional medicine in years.
One of them is Maroochydore ‘s Gerard Fitzgerald. The 72-year-old suffered a stroke four years ago and, despite years of traditional rehabilitation and daily exercise, his treatment had progressed.
“My left type locks up or does silly things like pins and needles,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“It makes it hard for me to walk and stuff like that.”
He now attends robotics rehabilitation sessions three times a week.
The innovative technology, developed in Austria, challenges the physical and mental capacity of patients in a virtual world.
Virtual reality will bring real benefits
Cooroy’s 110-year-old Eden Private Hospital is beginning the rehabilitation of integrated robotics in the southwest of the state, after installing four state-owned machines a few months ago.
Patients either sit at a large screen with friction control, stand on a sensory pad for lower limb functions or use hand controls to move through games to improve upper arm movement.
The exercises also aid in intellectual rehabilitation, as they target the neuroplasticity of the brain to improve mental outcomes.
Homeland Health Manager John Turnbull said the robotics devices could help a wide range of patients, including those who have suffered strokes, those with cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
“You see in real life that your arm can’t do much, but [when] you put that in a different meaningful situation, you will see that it does more. ”
Mr Turnbull said one of the machines could even handle a patient’s hand, so they could do the exercises on their own.
“As soon as the patient can start using that hand, even just a little bit, the machine can return and let you start doing the rest of the movement,” he said.
Dr. Phoebe Slape said rehab robotics patients received a greater amount of treatment over a shorter period of time.
“That’s really important, so more motivation, more repetition of movement,” Dr. Slape said.
Test of mental and physical ability
Paraplegic Sydney MacRae, of Kia Ora, is using the technology in overcoming shoulder reconstruction surgery.
He said it was different from any other type of rehabilitation he had done before.
“They work together to make the most of it. I find it pretty amazing.
“I have to learn to use the muscles on my shoulder completely differently from what I’ve done before and this is where this equipment can make a big difference.”
The robotics equipment provides physicians instant data, which can determine when a patient’s work should be tested in real situations.
“We don’t have to wait three, four, five weeks – we reassess the patient to see if we are having any effect,” Mr Turnbull said.
The robots will be tested on pediatric patients with brain disorders from next year, to help develop their physical and learning abilities.
The hospital is working with four Sunshine Coast schools to develop a program to help children with learning difficulties.
Mr Turnbull said the program would give children “something they are confident they can relate to”.