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T ERRI REED HAD high hopes when Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital invested in a LokomatPro FreeD, a state-of-the-art, computerized robotic system designed to improve patients' gait through neuromuscular re-education. Reed, a physical therapy assistant at the hospital in Wichita, knew robotic gait therapy had the potential to help her patients get back on their feet more quickly after a stroke or other injury to the brain or spinal cord. But several months into using the Lokomat, even she has been impressed with the results. "Patients are becoming aware so much quicker," Reed says. "Their level of attentive- ness is better. Their ability to find midline is better. Their trunk control is better. We're even seeing quicker improvement in speech and swallowing, which we hadn't necessarily expected." The LokomatPro FreeD — the first of its kind installed in the United States — is part of an investment by Via Christi Health to pro- vide the latest in technological advancements for its patients in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. The result, leaders say, should be faster recovery from a variety of neurologi- cal conditions. "These are the newest resources in evi- dence-based practice that therapists are using to help regain function for our patients," says Marcia Trebilcock, PT, Manager of Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy for Via Christi. The Lokomat, which was installed in November, allows patients to begin walking much greater distances — and sooner — than they would have before. Reed says three therapists might have helped a patient in the early recovery stages of stroke walk 50 feet By Terry Rombeck Via Christi Offers New, Advanced Tools for Patient Rehabilitation Lokomat Unit, Other Technologies Give Therapists Additional Options to Improve Patient Outcomes The ArmeoSpring includes a visual feedback system that allows patients to complete tasks such as picking an apple from a grocery bin or breaking an egg into a bowl. PHOTOS © VIA CHRISTI HEALTH COV ER FE AT UR E 6 | Greater Kansas MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M