Overview
Gait pattern difficulties, balance and coordination deficits often characterize patients with congenital and acquired neuromotor disorders and have a significant impact on the quality of life of these subjects. There are various treatments used and in recent years, the advent of advanced technologies in rehabilitation and, in particular, devices based on virtual reality, has opened up new possibilities in rehabilitation. Virtual reality is a promising strategy that incorporates many principles crucial to motor learning, such as high-intensity, repetitive, goal-oriented tasks, enhanced synchronized sensory signals, and active participation. The virtual environment is also suitable for personalized treatment based on the needs of the individual patient.
The GRAIL (Gait Real-time Analysis Interactive Lab) is a device that integrates immersive virtual reality with an instrumented treadmill and a motion capture system, which can be used with both rehabilitation and evaluation goals. To date, there are still few studies of this device in the pediatric field.
The objective of the study is to verify the performance in clinical practice of the immersive virtual reality platform GRAIL and determine any secondary effects by evaluating whether they entail acceptable risks compared to the expected performances following the protocol defined at the IRCCS Medea by Bosisio Parini, in children and adolescents with congenital and acquired neuromotor pathology.
Patients suffering from acquired and congenital brain injuries undergo a combined rehabilitation treatment consisting of 20 sessions with GRAIL and 20 physiotherapy sessions in four weeks. The same subjects undergo evaluations before and at the end of the treatment
The study is prospective and involves the verification of performance through clinical and instrumental evaluations in the population of subjects treated with the GRAIL device at the IRCCS Medea-Bosisio Parini.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Capable of following verbal requests
- Gross Motor Function Classification System score I to III
Exclusion Criteria:
- Severe spasticity
- Severe cognitive disability
- Severe auditory or visual disability