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Patient Bill Fair put the SoloWalk robotic walker through its paces, as part of a pilot study led by Geriatrician Dr. Allen Huang on A1 – the Geriatric Medicine Unit at The Ottawa Hospital.

The robotic walker slowly lifts a senior patient to a standing position and then supports him as he takes some progressive steps.

If he stumbles or feels weak, the safety harness and the robot will support his weight, saving him and his physiotherapist, nurse or other caregiver from a potential fall.

“Getting patients to walk early on during their hospital stay can shorten their stay and improve their recovery,” said Geriatrician Dr. Allen Huang, who is leading a pilot study of the SoloWalk robotic walker on A1 – the Geriatric Medicine Unit (GMU) at the Civic Campus of The Ottawa Hospital.

“The usual way to improve walking with patients is to use simple walkers and trained staff to help them walk,” he explained. “However there are not always enough staff around to help and sometimes staff can suffer back injuries from trying to lift and support patients. Using a robotic walking device may help older patients walk more when they are in the hospital, thus leading to a faster recovery.”

Staff members, including Orderly John Ferguson (left), had a chance to try the SoloWalk robotic walker and offer feedback to Geriatrician Dr. Allen Huang.

Designed and built by engineers Aliasgar Morbi and Richard Beranek, SoloWalk has been tested with cerebral palsy patients at the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre. But geriatric patients have different needs, so they’re working with Dr. Huang and other GMU staff members to test the walker at the hospital.

“We designed SoloWalk specifically to make sure that patients can get up and walk earlier during their hospital stay,” Beranek told a group of hospital staff members who assembled for a demonstration – Phase 1 of the pilot study. “Research shows that the earlier mobility starts, the greater the long-term benefits, for patients and for shorter hospital stays and readmission rates.

SoloWalk began as engineering research by Morbi and Beranek at Carleton University’s Advanced Biomechatronics and Locomotion Laboratory. They founded GaitTronics, a rehabilitation robotics company, in 2012 to commercialize the technology.

“The goal of the pilot study is to get opinions from geriatric patients, family members and health-care staff about the machine,” said Dr. Huang.

During the demonstration, several physiotherapists tried it themselves, pretending to fall to see how well the harness supported them. They liked that it allowed them to walk with a natural gait, has a good turning radius and the harness and support arms made them feel secure. Although all surfaces can be sanitized, the harness hits along the diaper line, which would not be good for infection control.

“That’s some of the feedback we’re looking for,” said Beranek.

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