The Latest Technology Trends in Rehabilitation

Choosing the right rehabilitation hospital for yourself or a loved one is an important decision. You probably have plenty of questions to ask, as well as a set of criteria that must be met before you make your final choice.

But your decision will be made easier if the hospital you’re considering has kept up with the latest technology. That’s why Ernest Health Systems are a great fit: they have the latest in rehabilitative technology that’s at the foundation of superior patient care. That technology includes LiteGait, Dynavision, and VitalStim Therapy.

LiteGait

LiteGait creates an ideal, safe environment for treating patients with a wide range of impairments, and who are at different functional levels. How does it work? Through its unique harness design, LiteGait eliminates concerns for balance while training coordinated lower extremity movement, while also providing proper posture.  The LiteGait system makes it possible to adjust the weight-bearing load on the weaker side of the body by either increasing or decreasing it. It also allows the technician to assist the patient’s legs and pelvis in helping to achieve proper gait patterns. LiteGait is used in an environment that’s free from falls.

For patients, its benefits are many and include re-learning to walk with proper postures, and also beginning gait training earlier in the rehabilitative process. Moreover, it helps patients experience a sense of accomplishment.

Dynavision

Dynavsion is designed for use in rehabilitation facilities, and is a device that improves patients’ visual and motor skills that have been affected by diseases or injuries. It also allows each patient to have their own personalized rehabilitation program that best suits his or her needs – a feature that separates Dynavision from other physiotherapy devices.

Patients who use Dynavision can improve their peripheral visual awareness, hand-eye-coordination, visual attention and anticipation, as well as visual-motor reaction time. At the same time, it’s providing physicians and physical therapists with the necessary data to evaluate the patient’s gross motor skills, response to visual stimuli, and his or her ability to perform neuro-cognitive tasks.

Dynavision can be used to successfully improve the abilities of patients who may have limitations from a stroke, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, amputations, and orthopedic injuries.

VitalStim Therapy

Dysphagia, or trouble swallowing, is a common condition among stroke and brain injury survivors, and VitalStim Therapy has been proven effective in the treatment of it. VitalStim therapy involves external electrical stimulation that helps re-train the muscles needed to complete the swallowing process. Electrodes are attached to the patient’s neck and a small current is used to stimulate nerves. Over time, this therapy helps to gradually re-train the necessary muscles.

In clinical trials, VitalStim has been shown to be two or three times more effective than traditional stimulation techniques. It’s clearly an important treatment for patients with dysphagia – in which symptoms can range from mild discomfort while swallowing to losing the ability to swallow.