ICF-inflenced VR for CP and DCD

Review

Integrating New Technologies into the Treatment of CP and DCD

Wilson P, Green D, Caeyenberghs K, Steenbergen B & Duckworth J

Disorders Of Motor (PH Wilson, Section Editor), Current Developmental Disorders Reports pp 1-14 First online: 11 April 2016

DOI: 10.1007/s40474-016-0083-9

Link to abstract: link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40474-016-0083-9

Intention: From the perspective of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/ , how does the current understanding of childhood participation and motor development shape opportunities for developing new rehabilitation technologies?

Process: The authors examine the ICF framework, its holistic perspective on neurodevelopmental disorders, and then the implications that could influence technology-mediated treatments. “…interventions should have a clear focus on enhancement of participation.” Virtual reality and interactive games for both CP and DCD are considered.

Conclusion: “VR technologies have the potential to expand the opportunities available for engaging children in therapeutic activities across physical, social [,] and cognitive domains.”

Un-Robots for Therapy

Review

Robotic Therapies for Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review

Bayon C, Raya R, Sergio LL, Ramirez O, Serrano J I & Rocon E

Translational Biomedicine 2016, 7(1):44

Link to full text article: www.transbiomedicine.com/translational-biomedicine/robotic-therapies-for-children-with-cerebral-palsy-a-systematic-review.php?aid=8788

Objective: For children with cerebral palsy, what is the evidence for robot-based rehabilitation?

Process: The authors performed a systematic review using the PRISMA protocol http://www.prisma-statement.org/ They searched 4 terms: robot, children, therapies and cerebral palsy. This resulted in 44 included studies that were broken into 4 groups: lower extremities (gait), upper extremities, virtual reality as an adjunct to the therapy and clinical applications. The authors do not define the term ‘robot’, and although the search results in articles that include the word robot, the articles are not specifically about robots, but assistive machines. Robots possess a degree of autonomy, this key quality separates robots from machines. The upper and lower extremity devices discussed in this review are passive (mechanical) or power-assistive (electro-mechanical) machines: (NF-walker, Innowalk, LOKOMAT, GT-1 RehaStim, Inmotionarm, ARMEO, Yougrabber and REAplan).

Findings: “There is still a lack of randomised clinical trials with a representative number of subjects, which makes it difficult to evaluate the impact of robot-based therapy, especially the long-term effects. The inclusion of cognitive aspects into the therapies and the design of virtual scenarios in combination with robotic devices provide promising results.”