US 7,462,138 B2
Ambulatory suspension and rehabilitation apparatus
Devdas Shetty, West Hartford, Conn. (US); Avital Fast, Glen Cove, N.Y. (US); and Claudio Campana, Suffield, Conn. (US)
Assigned to The University of Hartford, West Hartford, Conn. (US); and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y. (US)
Filed on Jul. 01, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/173,197.
Prior Publication US 2007/0004567 A1, Jan. 04, 2007
Int. Cl. A63B 22/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 482—69  [482/51; 601/23] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ambulatory suspension system for gait rehabilitation including:
(a) a parallel pair of rails bordering the sides of and spaced above a training area;
(b) a bridge extending between and movable along said rails;
(c) trolley movable along said bridge;
(d) a motor driven hoist on said trolley;
(e) a cable extending about said hoist and depending from said trolley, said hoist being operable to vary the length of the cable depending from said trolley;
(f) a harness suspended on said cable;
(g) motors for moving said bridge along said rails and said trolley along said bridge;
(h) sensors for sensing the direction of movement of the patient in X and Y directions;
(i) a sensor on said cable for sensing the falling motion of a patient supported in said harness;
(j) a computer control for receiving signals from said sensors and operating said motors to move said bridge on said rails and said trolley on said bridge and to rotate said hoist to provide movable support for the patient in said harness within the training area.