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OVERHEAD HARNESS for Gait re-education
1995/96 |
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An overhead harness system was designed in 1995 by a Biomedical Engineering student: Andrew Searle. The system can be used for safety and weight relief during the early stages of rehabilitation of patients with gait disorders.
| The aim for this project was to construct a harness system in conjunction with an established walkway at Monash REHABTech. This would assist patients during gait rehabilitation. It has been shown previously that such a setup would aid patients in improving their gait, particularly in early periods of rehabilitation; for instance, when recovering from a stroke or recent lower limb amputation. |  |
The additional features of this system are that the carriage (which runs on rails above the patient) will automatically follow the subject via a motor rather than being pulled along as has been the case in the past. The new system is also capable of bearing a proportion of a patient's weight, so that a person who has sore joints, pressure points or mending bones may begin walking rehabilitation much earlier than before.
There are three key areas that the final system addresses:
1. SAFETY
The user should be confident that they will not fall or trip and thus injure themselves. Once the patient has confidence that the harness will prevent this, they will be able to direct more attention to walking technique rather than being concerned about their stability and balance.
2. WALKING
The system must enable the patient to walk as naturally as possible yet still be supported by the harness, thus enabling patient's gait to improve with regular exercise.
3. WEIGHT BEARING
The harness arrangement should also be capable of relieving a portion of the patient's weight. This is extremely beneficial when the patients leg strength is less than that required to walk unaided, or pain from weightbearing hinders the patient' gait development.
The system comprises a motor and gearbox to drive the a carriage along a rail which is attached to the roof. A pneumatic actuator provides weight relief and also covers the safety factor.
