Gait Exercise Assist Robot（GEAR）Using Visual and Auditory Feedback Improves Gait in a Hemiplegic Patient with Severe Sensory Impairment：A Case Report
- VernacularTitle:重度感覚障害を呈した脳卒中片麻痺患者に対して視覚および聴覚フィードバックを併用した歩行練習アシストロボット（Gait Exercise Assist Robot：GEAR）の介入により歩行能力の改善を認めた1症例
- Author:
Yui OIKAWA
1
;
Daichi TANAKA
1
;
Kanna SAKAJIRI
1
;
Ryoichi FURUTA
1
;
Kazuhiro SUGAWARA
2
Author Information
- Keywords: stroke; sensory impairment; Gait Exercise Assist Robot; feedback; gait ability
- From:The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 2024;():23042-
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
- Abstract: Here we report the case of a female patient in her 70s with right hemiplegic stroke and severe sensory impairment whose walking ability was improved by visual and auditory feedback provided by a Gait Exercise Assist Robot (GEAR)．The patient was diagnosed with a left thalamic hemorrhage. Upon being admitted to the convalescent rehabilitation ward, she reported feeling no sensations in her right upper or lower limbs according to the Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS；both superficial and positional sensations)．Additionally, she had a Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score of 16 and Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC) score of 0. The patient underwent the GEAR intervention for approximately 40 min daily. She was provided visual feedback, in which images of her feet and the sagittal plane were presented on the monitor in front of her；and auditory feedback, in which her paralyzed lower limbs were loaded. No significant improvement was noted in her superficial or positional senses based on the SIAS score at 2 months post-intervention；however, the BBS and FAC scores improved to 46 and 3 points, respectively. These findings suggest that, although it is difficult to improve sensory impairment, repetitive gait training via GEAR-provided visual and auditory feedback and assistive function may improve the gait and walking ability of stroke patients with severe sensory impairment.
