Robot Therapy Shows Promise for Improving CP Symptoms
Engineers at MIT are finding that robot-based therapy can aid limb movement in children affected by cerebral palsy symptoms. Previous research has focused on how robotics can assist adults who have suffered stroke, but scientist Hermano Igo Krebs and colleagues wanted to test the therapy on children, whose brains are more impressionable.
Right now research is focused on using robotics to help children with cerebral palsy reach and grasp objects. According to the researchers, the robotic treatments are able to accomplish a couple of things:
- To reduce impairment
- To enable and create neural connections
One in 278 children in the United States has cerebral palsy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and research into treatments is ongoing.
