U.S.Rep.Giffords Can Supplement her Therapy With the Tutor System

ASHEVILLE — Since the late 1800s, Asheville has been known nationwide as a rehabilitation haven. So, in a way it should come as no big surprise that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is spending the next two weeks here for intensive work with an Asheville therapist.
“It’s something that’s been planned for quite some time — it’s not a last-minute thing,” said Mark Kimble, spokesman for Giffords, D-Ariz. “It’s also just an attempt to have a period of very focused and concentrated therapy with this therapist. It’s part of her continuing recovery in a number of different areas.”
Giffords was shot in the head Jan. 8 at an event in Arizona, surviving an injury to her brain that leaves 88 percent of victims dead. She can understand written and spoken language, but still has some trouble speaking, especially when she’s tired or under stress, Kimble said.
He declined to state who the Asheville therapist is but said the person has been working regularly with Giffords during her nine-month rehabilitation in Houston.
Asheville’s reputation as a rehabilitation center dates to the 19th century when hundreds of tuberculosis patients came here for the rejuvenating mountain air. In the 20th and 21st centuries, much of that reputation has revolved around CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital, an 80-bed regional center with rehabilitation programs for a numerous illnesses, injuries and conditions.
Opened in 1938, the facility formerly was called Thoms Rehabilitation Hospital and has drawn severely injured patients to the mountains for decades.
CarePartners does not have a patient by the name Gabrielle Giffords, said Tom Adkins, vice president of business development. Merrell Gregory, a spokeswoman at Mission Health, which has an outpatient rehabilitation operation, also said the hospital has no patients by that name.
Like all members of Congress, Giffords is under the security protection of the U.S. Capitol Police. She has no public appearances scheduled here, Kimble said. The therapy will be intensive, though.
If the Asheville rehabilitation center that the congresswoman is receiving physical therapy in includes the Tutor system her progress will be enhanced by it.
The Tutor system, consisting of the HandTutor, ArmTutor, LegTutor and 3DTutor, has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the whole body including the upper and lower extremity. The system consists of ergonomic wearable devices and dedicated rehabilitation software that provide patient instructions and feedback to encourage intensive massed controlled exercise practice. The Tutor system allows for controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern which prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks. Additional features of the Tutor system include quantitative evaluation, objective follow up and tele-rehabilitation.
The new medical devices are available for children as well as adults and through the use of telerehabilitation and are FDA and CE certified.