title: Improved Gait Speed After Robot-Assisted Gait Training in Patients With Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Preliminary Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical features that could serve as predictive factors for improvement in gait speed after robotic treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 29 patients with motor incomplete spinal cord injury received 4-week robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) on the Lokomat (Hocoma AG, Volketswil, Switzerland) for 30 minutes, once a day, 5 times a week, for a total of 20 sessions. All subjects were evaluated for general characteristics, the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), the Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS), the Functional Ambulatory Category (FAC), the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury version II (WISCI-II), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Spinal Cord Independence Measure version III (SCIM-III) every 0, and 4 weeks. After all the interventions, subjects were stratified using the 10MWT score at 4 weeks into improved group and non-improved group for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The improved group had younger age and shorter disease duration than the non-improved group. All subjects with the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale level C (AIS-C) tetraplegia belonged to the non-improved group, while most subjects with AIS-C paraplegia, AIS-D tetraplegia, and AIS-D paraplegia belonged to the improved group. The improved group showed greater baseline lower extremity strength, balance, and daily living function than the non-improved group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessment of SCIM-III, BBS, and trunk control, in addition to LEMS, have potential for predicting the effects of robotic treatment in patients with motor incomplete spinal cord injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seungwon
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8217-4714
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Ri
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4431-4549
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Zee-A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8070-2218
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bum-Suk
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0506-0403
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soojeong
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3951-6947
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunsoo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9699-9132
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Gun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3892-2751
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Phil
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1988-8236
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Mun-Hee
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9902-0826
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center for Rehabilitation Robots, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Duk-Youn
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5170-5030
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center for Rehabilitation Robots, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hayeon
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1251-1102
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center & Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Jin
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9400-6283
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Clinical trial; Locomotion; Rehabilitation; Robotics; Spinal cord injuries