Many children with physical disabilities experience difficulty using traditional exercise equipment for gait rehabilitation and fitness training, and the clinician resources required to deliver intensive overground or treadmill-based therapies are infrequently available in most clinics, hospitals, and school settings. This work describes design and testing of a comprehensive set of modifications that enabled children to use a commercially available robotic exercise device (i.e., Intelligently Controlled Assistive Rehabilitation Elliptical (ICARE)) initially developed to address walking and fitness goals of adults with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. Fifteen children (3–11 years old) concurrently enrolled in physical therapy due to varied neurologic conditions were recruited with their parent(s) to evaluate the safety, comfort, and usability of the adult ICARE and pediatric-modified ICARE. After children tried each device, feedback was recorded. To assess feasibility, each child then participated in up to ten sessions (two to five sessions per week; average session length: 38 min, range 21–66 min) using the pediatric-modified ICARE. Parents, on average, perceived that the pediatric-modified ICARE was significantly safer, more comfortable and usable than the adult ICARE. Children's perceptions of the pediatric-modified ICARE were similar, although not statistically significant. Children used the prototype device during 133 sessions for over 3800 min and more than 162,000 cycles. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the feasibility of using the pediatric-modified ICARE with children as young as 3 years old as an adjunct to ongoing therapy.
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March 2019
Research-Article
Adapted Motor-Assisted Elliptical for Rehabilitation of Children With Physical Disabilities
Judith M. Burnfield,
Judith M. Burnfield
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
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Thad W. Buster,
Thad W. Buster
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
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Chase M. Pfeifer,
Chase M. Pfeifer
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
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Sonya L. Irons,
Sonya L. Irons
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
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Guilherme M. Cesar,
Guilherme M. Cesar
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
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Carl A. Nelson
Carl A. Nelson
Department of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
W316 Nebraska Hall, P.O. Box: 880526,
Lincoln, NE 68588
e-mail: [email protected]
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
W316 Nebraska Hall, P.O. Box: 880526,
Lincoln, NE 68588
e-mail: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Judith M. Burnfield
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Thad W. Buster
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Chase M. Pfeifer
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Sonya L. Irons
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Guilherme M. Cesar
Institute for Rehabilitation
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Science and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,
5401 South Street,
Lincoln, NE 68506
e-mail: [email protected]
Carl A. Nelson
Department of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
W316 Nebraska Hall, P.O. Box: 880526,
Lincoln, NE 68588
e-mail: [email protected]
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
W316 Nebraska Hall, P.O. Box: 880526,
Lincoln, NE 68588
e-mail: [email protected]
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received February 7, 2018; final manuscript received September 12, 2018; published online December 4, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler.
J. Med. Devices. Mar 2019, 13(1): 011006 (9 pages)
Published Online: December 4, 2018
Article history
Received:
February 7, 2018
Revised:
September 12, 2018
Citation
Burnfield, J. M., Buster, T. W., Pfeifer, C. M., Irons, S. L., Cesar, G. M., and Nelson, C. A. (December 4, 2018). "Adapted Motor-Assisted Elliptical for Rehabilitation of Children With Physical Disabilities." ASME. J. Med. Devices. March 2019; 13(1): 011006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041588
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