More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Home Canterbury News Article
A hospital is trialling a pair of robotic legs which could help people suffering from mobility diseases walk again.
The equipment at Kent and Canterbury Hospital is designed to build core and leg strength.
Groundbreaking robotic technology is being tested at Kent and Canterbury Hospital
If the hospital can bring in more units then it could go some of the way to helping patients across the UK.
Though partly charity funded, they cost in excess of £100,000.
Dr Mohamed Sakel, from the hospital, said: “At times, we encounter patients who have been told that nothing can be done and now we have an opportunity to give them the option of something that could make a real difference to their lives.
“We are enabling patients to rediscover muscles and movement that may have become somewhat lost over time. They are re-learning how to balance and to move more easily.
“The machine takes away the risk of falling and the fear that accompanies it and allows people to become confident in a safe environment. They can retrain their muscles and build up their strength so they are able to realise the benefits outside of the machine as well.”
Richard Aske-Haley, a sufferer of multiple sclerosis for 9 years, has been left unable to stand up and walk unaided.
But the new piece of equipment being trialled in Canterbury could change all of that.
He said: "It’s great to have the feeling of total independence.
"And being able to look a colleague or a friend in the eye when you’re in the standing up position, not having to worry about balance."
Richard and his fiancée travelled all the way from Scotland just to be seen in Canterbury as it’s the only hospital where this trial is available.
The doctors have been given time constraints of trying to get Richard to walk by March next year as that is when he will marry his fiancée and wants to have his first dance.
