Promoting Functional and Independent Sitting in Children With Cerebral Palsy Using the Robotic Trunk Support Trainer.

ABSTRACT: Seated postural abilities are critical to functional independence and participation in children with cerebral palsy, Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) levels III-IV. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the feasibility of a motor learning-based seated postural training with a robotic Trunk-Support-Trainer (TruST) in a longitudinal single-subject-design (13y, GMFCS IV), and its potential effectiveness in a group of 3 children (6-14y, GMFCS III-IV). TruST is a motorized-cable driven belt placed on the child's trunk to exert active-assistive forces when the trunk moves beyond stability limits. TruST-intervention addresses postural-task progression by tailoring the assistive-force fields to the child's sitting balance to train trunk control during independent shor

SUBMITTER: Santamaria V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7962149 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature