Maintaining its position as a national and world leader in clinical innovations using advanced rehabilitation technologies, MossRehab is the first in the United States to test the THERA-Trainer Solution for gait rehabilitation.

Physical therapists at various MossRehab locations are trialing the THERA-Trainer solution on patients with neurological deficits during gait rehabilitation. The three mobility training robots of the solution support different stages of rehabilitation from the early patient mobilization in an acute care hospital setting to providing therapy in a rehabilitation setting for patients to receive strength, endurance, and balance training in relearning to stand and walk.

“The THERA-Trainer Solution takes patients from moving their arms and legs while in bed or chair to practicing standing balance through to the ability to take steps,” explains Alberto Esquenazi, MD, Chief Medical Officer of MossRehab. “Using the THERA-Trainer Solution, MossRehab clinicians can help patients after stroke, brain injury and other neurological injuries to learn to balance and walk more effectively.”

The first step in the THERA-Trainer rehabilitation journey is the bemo® which offers a cycling activity for individuals still lying in the hospital bed or seating on a wheelchair. The bemo is currently being trialed in our acute care hospital at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia.

Next up are the balo® and lyra®, both of which are being used in therapy gyms for stroke or brain injury patients who are working to restore standing and walking functions.  

According to Elizabeth Marcy, PT, DPT, NCS, team leader for the Drucker Brain Injury Center and the stroke program. “The balo helps individuals participate in dynamic standing activities and interactive games that encourage them to complete a task.”

Marcy uses the lyra to support clients during gait rehabilitation treatments. “Therapists harness patients into the device and lift them in place over a set of footplates in which they insert their feet,” she explains. “The foot pedals move to facilitate a stepping pattern for the patient.”

“Research suggests that patients with brain injuries need to achieve thousands of repetitions of stepping to help patients improve or restore lost functions,” she continues. “Instead of patients walking just a few feet with the assistance of therapists, the lyra® allows for more continuous standing and walking practice, increasing net stepping practice time during a session.” 

A software component of the lyra enables MossRehab therapists to track treatment duration and stepping information as well as receive biofeedback on patient participation in a session to track progress and adjust activity during subsequent sessions.

MossRehab patients may work with one or all of the THERA-Trainer equipment as part of their treatment plan, depending upon their impairments and limitations. “While we have lots of tools at our disposal, our therapists decide what is best to use during a therapy session to achieve patient centered goals,” notes Marcy.

MossRehab currently has the nation’s largest collection of robotic devices to assess and treat neurological deficits.

Learn more about our innovative technologies.