Hybrid Assistive Limb Functional Treatment for a Patient with Chronic Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

INTRODUCTION: The hybrid assistive limb (HAL) is a wearable exoskeleton cyborg that assists walking and lower limb movements via real-time actuator control by detecting the wearer’s bioelectric signals on the surface of their skin. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report the improvement in walking ability following HAL gait training in a patient with tetraplegia after incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). PATIENT AND METHODS: A 47-year-old man with traumatic cervical SCI for six months after fall had incomplete tetraplegic SCI grade C as classified according to the American Spinal Cord Injury Association impairment scale and was unable to walk in conventional rehabilitation. RESULTS: The HAL gait training was received 2 or 3 times per week for 13 sessions. Improvement was observed in gait speed (baseline: 0.12; after training: 0.45 m/sec), step length (baseline: 0.30; after training: 0.45 m), and cadence (baseline: 23.1; after training: 59.6 steps/min) based on a 10-meter walking test; International Standards for Neurological and functional Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) motor score (baseline: 59; after training: 76); and walking index for spinal cord injury (WISCI) II score (baseline: 1; after training: 6). CONCLUSION: We report the recovery of walking ability in a patient with chronic severe incomplete tetraplegic SCI following the HAL training.