Patients paralyzed in one leg may someday be able to walk and balance again with the help of robots developed by Toyota. Toyota designed the robots to assist paralyzed patients with their rehabilitation and to help their caregivers move them more easily. On November 2, Toyota unveiled four prototypes of these robots at an event in Tokyo.
The four types of robots are known as the Independent Walk Assist, the Walk Training Assist, the Balance Training Assist and the Patient Transfer Assist.
The purpose of the Independent Walk Assist is to help patients who are paralyzed in one leg. It consists of a leg brace that can be attached to a paralyzed leg. The brace is also attached to a computer, and the patient walks on a treadmill-like machine while wearing it. The technology contained in the leg brace allows the patient to bend the knee as he or she walks. The device can also measure the angle of joints in the leg, allowing physicians to track the patient's progress more easily. The brace can support a patient's weight and be adjusted as the patient gains strength in the leg.
The Walk Training Assist focuses on helping people who have difficulty walking. It has a similar setup as the Independent Walk Assist — a leg brace is attached to one leg. The brace uses sensors at the foot and thigh to detect the intention to walk and then to monitor any movement in the patient's hips while walking. The technology in the brace helps the knee swing, moving the patient's leg forward. Its goal is to eventually get full movement through the hips and thus enable the return of natural walking ability. As in the Independent Walk assist, adjustments can be made as the patient's strength returns.
Toyota researchers created the Balance Training Assist for patients who struggle to keep their balance when standing up. The device has two wheels on which patients have to balance, and looks similar to a Segway. While standing on the device, they play video games that strengthen their muscles. The three games available on the machine are tennis, soccer and basketball. The machine displays these games on a monitor, and the patient plays them by shifting his or her weight on the device, slowly improving balance.
The last robot Toyota introduced was the Patient Transfer Assist. This is the most advanced of the robots and the only one not designed for rehabilitation. The purpose of this robot is to make it easier for caregivers to move paralyzed or bedridden patients. The device has a mobile platform and weight-supporting arms. Using the arms, the robot can transfer the patient onto the platform and then transport him or her somewhere, such as from the bed to the bathroom. Toyota researchers tried to simulate the experience of being carried by the machine to that of being carried by a human being.
Toyota's robotics department focuses on incorporating robots into many avenues of human life, such as to solve medical, personal transport and manufacturing problems. The department has also produced robots unrelated to the automobile industry, such as one that plays music. Toyota is not the only automobile company invested in robotics —Honda has already created a walking assist device similar to the Independent Walk Assist robot.
Fujita Health University Hospital collaborated with Toyota to develop the robots by providing feedback on what kind of medical information the robots would need to monitor. Toyota hopes to start selling the robots in 2013.
