Children at risk of cerebral palsy may get help for crawling and walking thanks to a robot assistant, in the form of a motorized device worn by the baby.
Four researchers, Andrew Fagg, Lei Ding, Thubi Kolobe, and David Miller report on their development, with its potential to reduce functional limitations and potential deficits in cognitive development.
If a young baby shows no signs of successful crawling, there are considerable risks at play. Spontaneous limb and trunk movements are the developmental agents that enable infants to start crawling, said the researchers. Without this positive feedback, troubling results follow. They said, “the development of the neural pathways for productive limb use is diminished, which results in delayed or lack of development of crawling and walking.”