Rehabilitation Technology

State-of-the-Art Treatment for Neurologic Patients

At Good Shepherd, leading-edge rehabilitation technology, coupled with expert hands-on therapy, help to maximize function and increase independence in our patients who have had stroke, spinal cord or brain injuries, or suffer from other neurological illnesses and conditions.

Ness H200 (Bioness, Inc.)
The Bioness H200 is a neuroprosthetic system that helps patients with upper-limb paralysis regain hand control. It can also be used as an adaptive device to improve function for patients with a spinal cord injury.

The device surrounds the hand and forearm of a patient to obtain proper positioning. Five surface electrodes are integrated into the H200 to stimulate and activate the hand. A microprocessor provides the patient and clinician control over the desired hand activation. The device can be used for exercise as well as functional activities, such as practicing the grasp and release of objects and performing activities of daily living.

Ness L300 (Bioness, Inc.)
The Bioness L300 is a functional electrical stimulation system designed to help patients with neurological disorders affecting the lower extremities, specifically foot drop. The L300 is worn on the lower leg and foot. Its purpose is to stimulate muscle re-education, prevent atrophy and promote a more natural walking pattern. The L300 can be used either as a training device or a functional orthotic for patients to use daily when they walk.

Functional Tone Management (FTM) Arm Training
The FTM Arm Training Program features the Saeboflex, a dynamic orthosis that represents a new treatment approach for individuals suffering from neurological injury. The Saeboflex holds the patient’s affected hand in a functional position, helps with thumb and finger extension to allow patients to grasp and release objects more freely, improves motor recovery throughout the upper arm and improves strength, range of motion, motor control and overall arm function.

Parastep System
The Parastep is a microcomputer controlled functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) system that enables independent, unbraced standing and walking by people with spinal cord injury.

Up N’ Go
A new type of walker used for controlled reduction of weight-bearing load during gait training. It promotes better posture and alignment, strengthens the lower extremities in close-chained activities and promotes standing balance. The Up N’ Go enables a therapist to initiate safe, controlled gait training with a patient at an earlier stage in his or her rehabilitation.

Reo Go (Motorika)
The ReoGo robot is used for retraining patients with motor limitations in their upper extremities that result from stroke or other neuromuscular conditions. The system facilitates high repetitions of engaged arm training to get patients moving again, while improving muscle strength and range of motion.

Balance Master
The Balance Master was originally developed by NASA to help astronauts reacclimate to the earth’s gravity. It is used to gauge balance problems in individuals who have had stroke, brain or orthopedic injuries, or suffer from chronic mobility disorders, dizziness, degenerative diseases or vestibular disorders. The Balance Master provides clinical data relating to balance problems and helps clinicians develop appropriate treatment plans for each patient.

Vital Stimulation Therapy
Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, often affects individuals who have had stroke or other neurological problems. Vital Stimulation Therapy uses electrodes to strengthen and restore the swallow function to improve quality of life.

Lite Gait
Through the use of an overhead suspension system and harness, the Lite Gait allows therapists to provide body-weight-supported gait therapy to individuals who have difficulty walking following a neurological event. The system facilitates more normal movement patterns with better postural control.

Robomedica
Like the Lite Gait, the Robomedica is a body weight support system, which helps individuals achieve amore normal walking pattern and improved posture. It provides a safe training environment for individuals following spinal cord injury, brain injury or stroke and can be adjusted to accommodate for bone mineral loss and muscle atrophy.

GAITRite System
This computerized gait analysis system uses a series of switches embedded onto a mat, on which the patient walks. Data is then collected electronically, putting gait deviations into objective terms in order to show progress over time.

Aquatic Therapy
In Good Shepherd’s 1,200-square-foot heated aquatherapy pool, patients use the buoyancy and warmth of the water to reduce tone, promote relaxation, increase range of motion and improve balance and motor control.

Pressure Mapping: “Force Sensitive Applications”
Pressure sores can be painful and even deadly to individuals in wheelchairs. Through pressure mapping, clinicians can visually assess the pressure patterns of patients, allowing them to develop, adjust and implement pressure-relieving solutions. This system can be used to assess patients in wheelchairs for seating systems, as well as in bed to identify positioning needs and support surface requirements.

Constraint Therapy
For individuals with weakness in one arm, constraint therapy forces patients to use the affected arm by placing a restraining device on their good arm.

IMPACT© Concussion Program
Developed by the University of Pittsburgh, IMPACT is a computerized diagnostic program. It gives physicians an empirical way to compare the memory skills and reaction times of athletes pre- and post-concussion. It is used to determine the severity of concussions and make decisions about when an athlete can get back on the field following an injury.

Continuum of Care Services

Good Shepherd offers a continuum of care for individuals who have had a stroke or other neurological injury or suffer from a neurological illness or condition. Our services get you back on your feet and then help to get you back into life. Below is a sampling of the services available at Good Shepherd.

The Aphasia Group is available for individuals who have an impaired ability to use or comprehend words following stroke or brain injury.

The Communication Skills Group assists individuals who have difficulty speaking or communicating.

The Good Shepherd Stroke Support Group meets monthly to promote healthy living and socialization among stroke survivors and their families.

The Stay Fit exercise program keeps stroke survivors active and healthy.

The Stroke Peer Visitor Program is available for patients in Good Shepherd’s inpatient rehabilitation settings. The program connects stroke survivors with those who have recently suffered stroke. It allows patients to see that there is life after stroke and get important questions answered.

The Spinal Cord Support Group brings individuals with spinal cord injury together to share stories and important health information.

The MS Wellness Program meets semi-weekly to promote socialization and discuss new treatments and developments in the fight against multiple sclerosis.

An Augmentative Communication lending library is available for patients and their families.

Optimal Fitness at Good Shepherd is a medical-model fitness center that offers wheelchair-accessible upper-body weight training equipment and personal training

The Harry C. Trexler Center for Assistive Technology is home to a Wheelchair Clinic, where individuals are fitted for mobility systems, an Adaptive Driving Program, which provides driving evaluations and training, and training areas for adaptive computer access, electronic aids to daily living and alternative and augmentative communication devices.

The Cognitive Remediation Group is available to improve memory skills and everyday cognitive activities.