Improving movement through rehabilitation technology

St John of God Frankston Rehabilitation Hospital has invested in an innovative technology to improve the range of movements in people with Parkinson’s disease.

5 Jul 2019

5 July 2019

The hospital offers therapy using the Pablo device, which is a sensor-based interactive therapy system for arms, hands, and fingers, to help retrain motor function.

St John of God Frankston Rehabilitation Hospital Occupational Therapist Amie Malcolm said the system helped develop new pathways from the brain to the muscles to help improve strength and range of movements.

“Some of the benefits we see if that patients can increase their grip strength and shoulder and wrist range of movements,” she said.

“The system is great because it takes people’s minds off the fact they are doing therapy, so they are not counting the number of repetitions they are doing of certain exercise movement and instead are being motivated through the game.”

The device is offered to patients with a range of conditions affecting their movement including stroke and Parkinson’s.

The system also provides assessment, monitoring and reporting to enable clinicians and patients to objectively measure their progress.