One research study at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children is giving new hope to children with mobility difficulties and their families. St. Mary’s Kids is conducting a research study on Trexo Robotics, a robotic device that allows kids with Cerebral Palsy and other neurological disorders, to walk using the device with the hope to seeing ongoing improvements even when the device is not in use.
Fox 5 featured the St. Mary’s study, focusing on Judah, one of the children participating in testing the benefits of the Trexo device. Four-year-old Judah was born with a rare disorder that affects his coordination, balance and motor planning abilities. While he is already engaged with an array of therapies, including occupational therapy and physical therapy, his family has kept their eyes open for new opportunities to allow him to further develop his walking and movement skills.
His mother says: “When I heard about Trexo on social media, I reached out to them to see how we can get Judah to try one of their devices. I knew that the robot’s repetitive motions can help Judah improve his gait pattern and hopefully bring him another step closer to independent walking.
“Trexo told me that the device can be purchased or rented. Then they asked if we live near St Mary’s Hospital because they have a research study kicking off there in April. It was very exciting to have Judah accepted as a participant in the study and we’ve seen tremendous improvements!”
The Trexo Plus device combines robotic wearable legs with a gait trainer, and the research taking place here focuses on how these devices can help therapists and caregivers assist children who are not walking independently.
The study also aims to measure whether children using the Trexo device experience ongoing benefits to their walking, sitting or standing abilities even when not using the robotic legs. For example, Judah’s mother says that her son is taking steps and riding a bike even when not using the Trexo. St. Mary’s researchers are examining whether these benefits apply more broadly to children and whether they can participate more fully in activities of daily living by making use of the Trexo’s therapeutic capacities.
St. Mary’s Hospital for Children is a Center of Excellence for Trexo Plus. The research being conducted there now is investigating whether the robotic device should become an ongoing part of St. Mary’s extensive therapeutic programs for children with medically complex conditions as well as acclimating clinicians and family members to the possibilities of the Trexo Plus.
St. Mary’s is committed to consistently exploring new devices, methods, and techniques that can benefit our patients. We are excited to be part of cutting edge of developments in pediatric care, therapy and mobility.
