Introduction: The wearable cyborg Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) is the world's first cyborg-type wearable robotic device, and it assists the user's voluntary movements and facilitates muscle activities. However, since the minimum height required for using the HAL is 150 cm, a smaller HAL (2S size) has been newly developed for pediatric use. This study aimed to (1) examine the feasibility and safety of a protocol for treatments with HAL (2S size) in pediatric patients and (2) explore the optimal method for assessing the efficacy of HAL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we aimed to evaluate the short-term outcomes of a rehabilitation program with the Hybrid Assistive Limb® after soft tissue lengthening in young patients with cerebral palsy. We assessed six patients with cerebral palsy who underwent soft tissue surgery followed by gait training using the Hybrid Assistive Limb®. Clinical assessments were conducted preoperatively, before, immediately after, and at 1, 2, and 3 months after gait training.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) improves the motor function of paralyzed upper limbs of adults after stroke. However, in patients with severe spastic cerebral palsy (CP), the use of CIMT is not warranted. Our aim was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of repetitive voluntary-assisted upper limb training (VAUT) for three patients with severe CP using a combination of robotics [Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL)] and functional electrical stimulation [Integrated Volitional Control Electrical Stimulation (IVES)].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter equinus corrective surgery, repetitive exercises for ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion are crucial during rehabilitation. The single-joint Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL-SJ) is an advanced exoskeletal robotic device with a control system that uses bioelectrical signals to assist joint motion in real time and demonstrates joint torque assistance with the wearer's voluntary movement. We present two cases of robot-assisted ankle rehabilitation after equinus surgery using the HAL-SJ in children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Purpose] Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL; Cyberdyne, Tsukuba, Japan) is a wearable robot that assists patients based on their voluntary movements. We report gait training with HAL after botulinum toxin treatment for spasticity of the lower limb in cerebral palsy (CP). [Participant and Methods] The participant was a 36 year-old male with spastic diplegia due to periventricular leukomalacia, with Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level II.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Few studies have evaluated the total energy expenditure (TEE) of children with disabilities using the doubly labeled water (DLW) method; however, none have compared it by disability type. Furthermore, no large-scale studies have focused on the severity of motor disability (MD). We aimed to compare TEE in children with disabilities by disability type.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCerebral palsy (CP) is the most frequent childhood motor disability. Achieving ambulation or standing in children with CP has been a major goal of physical therapy. Recently, robot-assisted gait training using the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) has been effective in improving walking ability in patients with CP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The motor functions of Rett syndrome patients degrade during the course of the disease. Some patients, however, are able to maintain their motor functions by undertaking exercise programs.
Case: A 2-year-old girl was diagnosed with Rett syndrome after the identification of a mutation in the gene encoding the methyl-CpG-binding protein.
Purpose: Gait parameters and gross motor function improve after 12 sessions of small-sized Hybrid Assistive Limb® (S-HAL) training in adult cerebral palsy (CP) patients. However, there are no reports on repetitive robot-assisted gait training using the newly developed very small-sized HAL (2S-HAL). This study aimed to examine the effect of using 2S-HAL on a pediatric CP patient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Early intervention is effective for developing motor ability and preventing contractures and deformities in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Gait training using the newly developed Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) shows promise as an intervention to prevent deterioration in walking ability and deformities in pediatric CP patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the safety and immediate effects on walking ability after gait training using the HAL in pediatric CP patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Purpose] The hybrid assistive limb was developed to improve the kinematics and muscle activity in patients with neurological and orthopedic conditions. The purpose of the present study was to examine the long-term sustained effect of gait training using a hybrid assistive limb on gait stability, kinematics, and muscle activity by preventing knee collapse in a patient with cerebral palsy. [Participant and Methods] A 17 year-old male with cerebral palsy performed gait training with a hybrid assistive limb 12 times in 4 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Purpose] The Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development is an evaluation scale developed in the field of psychology. The initial aim of this study was to determine whether the quotient of the Postural-Motor area in the scale was correlated with the use of orthosis in patients with Down syndrome. The second aim was to examine a correlation among Postural-Motor, Cognitive-Adaptive, and Language-Social areas in the participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Purpose] This study aimed to determine the safety and immediate effect of a single training session with the Hybrid Assistive Limb (CYBERDYNE) on walking ability in patients with cerebral palsy. [Participants and Methods] This study included 20 patients with cerebral palsy (15 males, 5 females, mean age 15.0 ± 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL®, CYBERDYNE) is a wearable robot that provides assistance to a patient while they are walking, standing, and performing leg movements based on the wearer's intended movement. The effect of robot-assisted training using HAL® for cerebral palsy (CP) is unknown. Therefore, we assessed the effect of robot-assisted training using HAL® on patients with CP, and compared walking and gross motor abilities between pre-intervention and post-intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganic arsenic diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA[V]) accumulates at high concentrations in the liver of primates after its subchronic administration. However, no studies on the hepatic effects of organic arsenic compounds, including DPAA(V), on primates have been reported to date. To clarify the toxicokinetics of DPAA(V) in the liver of primates, hepatic tissue specimens were collected from cynomolgus monkeys (n = 32) at 5, 29, 170, and 339 days after repeated administration of DPAA(V) for 28 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Purpose] The general approach for flat foot (FF) treatment in people with Down's syndrome (DS) is the use of insoles. However, the appropriate timing of the first insole prescription remains unclear. An aim of this present research was to investigate the status of prevalence of FF and orthosis prescription in the DS population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) is an exoskeleton wearable robot suit that assists in voluntary control of knee and hip joint motion. There have been several studies on HAL intervention effects in stroke, spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy. However, no study has investigated HAL intervention for patients with cerebral palsy after surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Purpose] Robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) using Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL, CYBERDYNE) was previously reported beneficial for stroke and spinal cord injury patients. Here, we investigate the immediate effect of a single session of RAGT using HAL on gait function for cerebral palsy (CP) patients. [Subjects and Methods] Twelve patients (average age: 16.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study investigated the sequential physical changes after botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injected in children with cerebral palsy.
Methods: Nine children with cerebral palsy were included. Measurements were performed before treatment and 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment.
In the year 2003, the residents of Kamisu, Japan, were exposed to pentavalent organic arsenic diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA[V]) via their normal drinking water. Following the exposure, they developed cerebellar and brainstem symptoms. Although the relatively high dose of DPAA(V) is assumed to have caused their symptoms, the relationship between the exposed dose of DPAA(V) and the level of their deposition in the central nervous system (CNS) remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiphenylarsinic acid (DPAA) is an organic arsenic compound used for the synthesis of chemical weapons. We previously found that the residents of Kamisu city in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, were exposed to DPAA through contaminated well water in 2003. Although mounting evidence strongly suggests that their neurological symptoms were caused by DPAA, the dynamics of DPAA distribution and metabolism after ingestion by humans remain to be elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Residents (n=157) of Kamisu City, Ibaraki, Japan, were orally exposed to diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA) via the ingestion of contaminated underground water. Subsequently, a clinical syndrome associated with a variety of cerebellar and brainstem symptoms, was observed in 20 of the 30 residents who consumed high concentrations of DPAA in the contaminated well water. While the clinical symptoms of DPAA were defined, the toxicokinetics of DPAA remained unclear.
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