Tutor System Replaces Externally Operated Devices in Physiotherapy

Rina Miller reports for Michigan Radio on January 29, 2012 about a hospital in Michigan that is working with yet again another robot that’s designed to help people who have spinal cord injuries to walk again.
DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan in Detroit has been chosen as one of 10 hospitals in the nation trying out Ekso – a battery-powered exoskeleton.
The ultimate goal is to have a home device for patients, but that technology likely won’t be ready for another couple of years. Insurance companies may balk at covering the exoskeleton because of its cost, which can be exorbitant.
While DMC and other rehabilitation Institutes wait for additional technology to make their product totally effective the TUTOR system has been around now for a few years already assisting brain injured patients as well as those suffering a myriad of other disabilities to regain mobility in their affected limbs. The TUTOR system is also one of the most cost effective medical devices to enter the field of rehabilitative therapy.
Occupational and physical therapists use the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR – known as the TUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work. This means that the patient himself, and not an outside influence, allows progress to be made in returning normal mobility to the affected limb.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed Tutors consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by tele physical therapy. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to 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 TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information..