Hocoma

Hocoma
Robotic rehabilitation, Medical technology
Headquarters Volketswil, Switzerland
Number of employees
 110 (2012)[1]
Website www.hocoma.com

Hocoma is a privately hold globally active medical technology company based near Zurich, Switzerland. Hocoma was founded in 1996[2] as spin-off of the Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich,[3] by the electrical and biomedical engineers Gery Colombo and Matthias Jörg and the economist Peter Hostettler. Today, Hocoma employs more than 110 people at its headquarters near Zurich and in its subsidiaries in Norwell, Massachusetts and Singapore. It develops therapy solutions for neurorehabilitation and low back pain therapy working closely with clinics and research centers. The Hocoma therapy solutions support the treatment of neurological patients with movement disorders caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or other neurological diseases and injuries as well as low back pain patients.

Products

Lokomat

The Lokomat is a gait therapy device on a treadmill with a robotic gait orthosis, and exercises in a virtual reality environment with a constant audio and visual feedback.[4] The Lokomat also provides a pediatric orthosis for driven locomotion therapy for small children.[5] The enhanced efficiency and efficacy of locomotion training with the Lokomat has been scientifically proven in over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals.[6] That is more than any other robotic therapy device for lower extremity rehabilitation.

In 2011, U.S. News & World Report surveyed almost 5’000 hospitals in the US and ranked them in 16 specialties.[7] Nine out of ten hospitals ranked as the top ten in “Rehabilitation” offer gait therapy with Hocoma’s Lokomat. By the end of 2011, over 390 Lokomat devices were in clinical usages in hospitals and clinics worldwide.

Armeo Therapy Concept

The Armeo Therapy Concept includes a range of devices for upper extremity rehabilitation. All devices share the same therapy software, which allows the transfer of individual therapy settings and scores. Each of the devices of the concept was designed for a particular stage in the recovery progress:

Erigo

The Erigo is a medical device for mobilization of neurological patients in the early phase of rehabilitation. The Erigo is a verticalization table with integrated robotic stepping functions that enable simultaneous dynamic leg movement and physiological cyclic leg loading. This supports the physical health of long bed rest patients and prevents secondary complications caused by immobility.[11] Clinical experience has shown a positive effect of the Erigo on the general alertness in vegetative state patients.[12]

Valedo

The ValedoMotion is a medical back training device with computer based exercises. Two wireless sensors that are attached to the patient’s back transfer trunk movements into a game like environment. Exercises specifically designed for low back pain therapy enhance the patient’s motivation and thereby counteract one of the biggest problems in low back pain treatment.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Company Overview". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "History of Hocoma". Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "Balgrist University Hospital: Funding". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Wee, Lea (3 November 2011). "Game for health". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Pediatric Lokomat® Walking Therapy". Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Literature in automated locomotion therapy". Hocoma Clinical Research. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "U.S. News Best Hospitals 2011-12". U.S. News. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  8. ↑ Staubli, Patricia; Nef, Tobias; Klamroth-Marganska, Verena; Riener, Robert (2009). "Effects of intensive arm training with the rehabilitation robot ARMin II in chronic stroke patients: Four single-cases". Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 6: 46. doi:10.1186/1743-0003-6-46. PMC 2807864. PMID 20017939.
  9. ↑ Sanchez, R.J.; Jiayin Liu, J; Rao, S.; Shah, P.; Smith, R.; Rahman, T.; Cramer, S.C.; Bobrow, J.E.; Reinkensmeyer, D.J. (2006). "Automating Arm Movement Training Following Severe Stroke: Functional Exercises with Quantitative Feedback in a Gravity-Reduced Environment". IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering 14 (3): 378–89. doi:10.1109/TNSRE.2006.881553. PMID 17009498.
  10. ↑ Stienen, Arno; Hekman, EEG and Prange, GB and Jannink, MJA and van der Helm, FCT and van der Kooij, H (2009). "Freebal: design of a minimal weight-support system for upper-extremity rehabilitation". ASME J Med Dev.
  11. ↑ Luther, M. S; Krewer, C.; Muller, F.; Koenig, E. (2008). "Comparison of orthostatic reactions of patients still unconscious within the first three months of brain injury on a tilt table with and without integrated stepping. A prospective, randomized crossover pilot trial". Clinical Rehabilitation 22 (12): 1034–41. doi:10.1177/0269215508092821. PMID 19052242.
  12. ↑ Müller, Friedemann. "New Technologic Approach to Minimizing Immobilization Effects of Patients with Brain Injury". International Brain Injury Association. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  13. ↑ Brodbeck, D.; et al. (2009). "Computer-aided Therapy System with Augmented Feedback for the Lower Back". Healthinf: 66–73.

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