INDIANAPOLIS – Hoosier children with cerebral palsy (CP) and other movement disorders have a new and innovative treatment option: robotic therapy. Riley Hospital for Children unveiled its new Robotic Rehabilitation Center today, which will enable patients to use interactive robots and computer games to help re-program their brains and improve their motor functions through repetitive, controlled motion.
The Robotic Rehabilitation Center at Riley Hospital, the first of its kind in the state, is a collaborative effort between Riley, the Indiana University Department of Physical Therapy and Clarian Health Rehabilitation Services, and is funded primarily through the Robots to the Rescue Foundation. The center is distinctive in that it offers both upper and lower extremity robots for clinical programs and research; it houses a Motion Analysis Research Lab; and it offers the nation’s first-ever Medicaid support for robotic therapy.
“Our primary focus at Riley Hospital has been to provide outstanding patient care and service to Hoosier children and their families,” said Dan Fink, president and CEO of Riley Hospital for Children. “This new center takes our commitment one step further and puts Riley – and Indiana – at the forefront of innovation as we look to improve the lives of children.”
For children with CP and other movement disorders, rehabilitation can be particularly challenging because impaired motor skills affect coordination and movement. Physical and occupational therapies have long been considered the mainstay treatments for CP, but increasingly, therapists, patients and families are turning to robotic therapy for help.
“Robotic therapy is well documented in adults – particularly those recovering from strokes – but we are just beginning to use robotic equipment for children,” said Dr. Greg Wilson, co-director of the Robotic Rehabilitation Center and a developmental pediatrician at Riley Hospital. “So far, the early results are very promising and that makes this center and the research we’re doing very exciting.”
The Robotic Rehabilitation Center at Riley Hospital is housed in the Rotary Building, across from the Riley Outpatient Center.
About Riley Hospital for Children
As one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals and Indiana’s first and only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Riley Hospital for Children, a part of Clarian Health, has provided compassionate care, support and comfort to children and their families for 85 years. Each year, Riley Hospital and Riley Hospital at Clarian North serve over 215,000 inpatients and outpatients from across Indiana, the nation and the world. Riley Hospital’s partnership with Clarian Health, and its strong affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine, makes it the only comprehensive clinical resource for Indiana’s children and the premiere source for health-related information for their parents. From simple care associated with the health and wellness of children and less complex specialty care to the most critically-ill and medically complex cases, Riley Hospital for Children is a national leader. Clarian Health operates the Methodist Hospital, Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children campuses as a single hospital under Indiana law.
