Harnessing the Power of Movement: A Body-Weight Support System & Assistive Robot Case Study
This research paper investigates the potential of a body-weight support harness system (BWSS) to promote movement and engagement in young children with motor disabilities. The study focuses on a case study with a child with a GMFCS Level IV motor disability, exploring the effects of the BWSS alone and in combination with assistive robots. The authors found that the BWSS facilitated self-initiated steps and increased overall movement during sessions. The assistive robots, while showing promise for encouraging engagement, required further investigation. The paper concludes that the BWSS holds potential for improving child mobility during physical therapy interventions, and that assistive robots may play a role in enhancing engagement and motivating movement.
College of Health researcher(s)
Abstract
Young children with motor disabilities face extra obstacles to engaging in movement and initiating social interaction. A body-weight support harness system (BWSS) allows a child to take steps, explore the environment, and interact with people and objects, but further research is needed to understand how this type of system can help children with motor disabilities. Assistive robots have the potential to keep a child engaged and motivated during physical therapy sessions with a BWSS. We conducted a case study over three and a half months to understand if the BWSS alone and if the BWSS with an assistive robot could promote child movement and engagement. Our results show that the child tended to increase their amount of movement over each session with the BWSS. The assistive robots used in this study also tended to keep the child engaged. The products of this work can benefit clinicians and researchers interested in early mobility intervention technologies, as well as roboticists working in the child mobility domain.