Tutor System a Helpful Aid to War Veteran’s Disabilities

David Wood writing in the HuffPost, part of the Huffington Post newspapers Septemeber 15, 2011 submits the following item:They all have different stories. Blinded by an explosion. Paralyzed legs from a helicopter crash. Traumatic brain injury from repeated IED blasts, resulting in anger and suicide attempts. Scarred and malformed limbs from a roadside bomb blast. Missing arms, missing legs.
But these wounded warriors, who volunteered and served in the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, have one thing in common: They’re not sitting at home in depression and self-pity. Instead, they are joyfully — and sweatily — riding an eight-day, 542-mile bicycle trip from Ground Zero in New York to the Pentagon, both to celebrate their camaraderie and to raise money to help other wounded warriors recover through cycling.
For them, the years since 9/11 have been a time of renewal, of community and of inspiring others.
“My guys didn’t save me to sit at home,” explained Gary Linfoot, a former special operations pilot with 21 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pulled from the wreckage of his AH-6 helicopter after it crashed in Iraq three years ago, he is paralyzed from the waist down. Like for others, cycling has given him a way to stay fit and work himself back into the world of high-intensity achievers, like those in his old special ops unit.
There are 350 of them, almost all wounded warriors, who laid wreaths of remembrance at Ground Zero on Sept. 10, then launched out on their bikes on 9/11, pushing 50 miles toward the Pentagon that day. Riding between 50 and 90 miles a day, they are scheduled to arrive at the Pentagon for a memorial and celebration on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Brain injuries from war traumas are amongst a host of disabilities that are easily treated by the Tutor system.
The Tutor system allows the patient to do intensive exercise practice that is customized to their movement ability, either with Passive Range Of Motion or Active Range Of Motion. The latter is the displacement of the joint in degrees when the person themselves moves the joint. We work with the active range of motion and set up a series of computerized games so that the patient can complete it within their active range of motion. The therapist can also assist the patient to move the limb.
The games are customized to a range of motion, speed and accuracy of the patient’s available active or assisted active movement ability. We set the game slightly above the patients movement ability so that they are encouraged and motivated to work harder and practice the controlled movement within the game. The aim is to improve the patient’s movement ability so they are better able to function.
The new FDA and CE certified HandTutor, ArmTutor, LegTutor and 3D Tutor have been developed to improve joint movement in brain and spinal cord injury victims. The devices are currently being used in leading U.S. and foreign hospitals as well as in physical therapy clinics and even in the patient’s home with tele rehabilitation. The devices also treat those suffering from MS, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries Apraxia among other disabilities.
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