A prototype of an adjustable advanced reciprocating gait orthosis (ARGO) for spinal cord injury (SCI)
Objective: To develop a reciprocating gait orthosis which could be used in different sized patients.Design: Clinical trial and orthotic development.Setting: A large rehabilitation hospital in Rome, ItalyPatients and methods: To carry out this project normal reciprocating gait orthosis parts were used. The device was modified to adjust the hip–ankle height, and the hip–hip distance. It was tested, by five patients already walking with standard ARGO, to evaluate the performances of the orthosis. The device has been tested on seven newly injured patients fulfilling specific criteria of different height and weight.Main outcome measures: Prototype suitability; patients appreciation.Results: The device can be used for persons between 1.60 m and 1.85 m tall, weighing up to 100 kg. The orthosis allows an upright position without the use of the hands, and walking with a walker or with two canes. The foot orthosis cover sizes 36–40 (British 3–7) and 41–45 (British 7–11). With the exception of donning, doffing and lifting, the walking performances of the prototype and the general appreciation is comparable with those of a standard device. After a short period of training all seven patients were able to walk in the parallel bars. All of them expressed general appreciation for the device; despite this only four patients wanted the orthosis, two refused it and one has not decided yet.Conclusions: The prototype allows the same standing and walking performances of normal ARGO. It could be used in spinal cord injury patients to let them test the potential of the device and thus be useful in the effort to reduce the percentage of ARGO rejection.