Unique Solutions for MS Gait Problems

With impaired walking ability generally considered the number one functional problem for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, new approaches to assistive devices were described here, ranging from the mechanical to the furry.

In the former category, PhD studentMorgan Boes and colleagues at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have designed a self-contained, pneumatic-powered ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) aimed at boosting a patient’s ability to push off while walking or climbing stairs.

In the latter category is Bamse, a 6-year-old boxer dog trained by Cecilie Fjeldstad, PhD, of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, to provide both physical and psychological support to moderately disabled MS patients as they walk.

Both researchers described their progress to date with their respective approaches at the joint meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (CMSC-ACTRIMS).

Pneumatic Powered AFO

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