Tutors Accelerate Recovery for SCI Patients

KARACHI: “Each story is more heart-rending than the next,” says S.M. Ilyas, a physical therapist heading the Paraplegic Centre, in Hayatabad, in Peshawar. “A lot of the permanently paralysed are young and the sole bread-winners,” he says, referring to survivors of spinal cord injuries (SCI).
SCI is usually caused by an accident, road accident being the most common one, and depending on where the vertebrae and nerves are damaged, the symptoms of the injury can, according to Ilyas, virtually make the person a “prisoner of his/her own body and him/her losing control over his/her bowl and bladder”.
“Your spine not only keeps your body upright, it protects the delicate nervous tissue called the spinal cord that serves as a link between your body and the brain,” he tells Dawn.com
The centre, set up in 1983 by the International Committee of the Red Crescent after the Soviet war in Afghanistan, provides free of cost services to over 350 survivors of SCI annually, although it costs an estimated Rs. 50,000 for the complete rehabilitation of each individual which can take anywhere from three to six months. It also serves as a model for developing countries using local technology and equipment. It gets funds from both the government and donors across the globe.
When SCI occurs and recovery is progressing the Tutor system (HandTutor, ArmTutor, LegTutor, 3DTutor) has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed devices can be used worldwide. The Tutor system consists of ergonomic wearable devices together with powerful dedicated rehabilitation software. The system is indicated for patients in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. Controlled exercise practice will help to prevent the development of compensatory movement patterns. The dedicated software allows the therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the therapist can objectively and quantitatively evaluate and report on the treatment progress. The rehabilitation system optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The Tutor system is FDA and CE certified. See www.HandTutor.com for more information.