Case reports: Patients who underwent HAL®-Therapy

Philippe von Gliszynski fell 3m from a roof when he was removing snow. His body below the 12th thoracic spine got paralyzed. Though he had a little sensation in his left leg, after one time surgery and regular rehabilitation, he should prepare himself for a wheelchair-bound life. He participated the clinical test for functional improvement with HAL® in February, 2012. At that time, it took 72 seconds for him to walk 10m with a walker but, in June, his symptom was so improved that it took only 26 seconds. After training he became able to walk more than 1,000m with a walker without being assisted by HAL®. Nobody could imagine that at the start of treatment with HAL®.

Source: cyberdyne.jp

A 34-year-old man had a traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury, with vertebral fracture and a right acetabulum fracture. Dorsal spinal fusion of T6 through T9 was performed on admission. The initial American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (C) showed incomplete motor T10 lesion.

Exoskeletal locomotion training with hybrid assistive limb started 77 days post trauma after radiologic confirmation of consolidation of the acetabulum fracture.

There was recovery of motor functions and walking abilities throughout 12 weeks of locomotion training with an increase in Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury II (WISCI-II) score from 8 to 18 (video 2); conversion to ASIA D occurred.

Source: Neurology July 29, 2014 vol. 83 no. 5 474