Cutting edge technology now in use at a Canberra hospital is not only speeding up the recovery process for patients with serious neurological injuries. But also revolutionising the way those who work to get them back on their feet are trained. The Australian-First program is integrating robotics and physiotherapy training in hopes of creating better patient and education outcomes.
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00:00As a professional mechanic, AJ is no stranger to machines, but being strapped to a robot
00:07is something else.
00:09It's computer controlled telling you how to walk and trying to get you to walk how a computer
00:15thinks you walk, not how I've been doing it for 50 years.
00:19So the first time it felt a bit awkward, but now I've been on it six times, it's comfortable.
00:26AJ's not complaining, having already seen improvements after a sudden unexpected illness.
00:31I fell ill with a disease called Guillain-Barre disease, which eliminates all my nerves, so
00:39I can't use any limbs, can't do anything.
00:42AJ is among patients at the University of Canberra Hospital taking part in a rehab program
00:48which uses robots with integrated video game technology.
00:52It keeps your mind active because you're actually doing things, and then it senses
00:56all the effort that I put in, and at the end of the session they can bring out and show
01:01how much weight the machine takes, how much effort I'm putting in, and each time you do
01:07it you get stronger and better at it.
01:08When I was trained as a physio many years ago, we would need to physically do that with
01:12our hands and it was very sort of time consuming and labour intensive.
01:16What these machines allow us to do is if we can set up the machine with one patient, then
01:20one physiotherapist or occupational therapist can supervise that treatment and it can be
01:24more efficient over time.
01:26The joint venture between the University of Canberra and the ACT's Public Health Service
01:32also sees students working with patients and staff as part of their training.
01:37Having a specialist rehabilitation hospital and having cutting edge technology is something
01:42that I expect will attract workforce and will also attract students to come and train here.
01:47AJ's motivation for taking part is simpler.
01:50I'm going to get up and walk out of here.
01:53There's no doubt about it.
01:55Innovation driving optimism.