IIT Jodhpur designs robotic trainer for physiotherapy

Jodhpur: Researcher from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur has designed a robotic trainer. It can be used in physiotherapy to treat lower limb of body disabilities. Especially for the disabled, paralysed and patients suffering from spinal diseases, this robot trainer can prove to be effective. The researcher Dr Jayant Kumar Mohanta, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering along with other co-researchers has designed the robotic trainer. This can perform critical and necessary rehabilitation therapeutic movements. “Rehabilitation of the lower limbs, especially walking, takes time and sometimes involves multiple physiotherapists. In robotic rehabilitation, the therapist only needs to provide supervision and installation of equipment,” Kumar explained. Dr Mohanta informed that the trainer proposed by the IIT Jodhpur team is conceptually simple and has a modular mechanical configuration which is easy to fix and use. Furthermore, since only linear actuators are used for hip and knee motion, the robot itself is stable, safe and robust during use. The robotic trainer we have designed will help provide physiotherapy to paralysed patients, and to those who have suffered spinal cord injuries that have disrupted the function of their lower limbs, he added.