http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=9430323
video at link.
A new tool is helping people who have suffered a stroke or brain injury learn to walk again.
"And put your other arm here," says the therapist, as he puts Wayne Riker into a harness.
That harness part of Vector, a new training device at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. A stroke left Riker with weakness on his left side.
He needs to practice walking, stepping, and shifting his weight over & over again.
Vector takes a lot of the weight off his feet, so he can slowly build up his strength with less fear of falling.
"There's no drag within the system.So, it keeps up with the patient," says Erin Blaustein, D.P.T., a physical therapist at Magee.
"If their legs completely give out, or they lose their balance, it will hold them up. It gives a patient a sense of confidence, and us a sense of confidence," she continues.
Riker describes his first session on Vector as, "Really sort of exhilirating."
Riker and his wife Virginia say it's a big improvement over sessions with a traditional walker.
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