NextStep Robotics

Problem There are 5,000,000 stroke survivors in the US and 800,000 new strokes per year. Of these, approximately 30% suffer from foot drop, a mobility disability inhibiting individuals from lifting their toe while walking, making them a high fall risk. While stroke is a major cause of foot drop, it can also result from Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, diabetic neuropathy, and orthopedic injuries or surgeries. Currently, the existing 123,500 rehabilitation centers cannot effectively treat foot drop with current methods, and are left prescribing archaic, rigid braces that immobilize the ankle. Any attempt to treat the condition outside of immobilizing the ankle is extremely labor intensive involving one or two Physical Therapists and is still ineffective. The current care options are so limited clinics either turn away patients looking for foot drop therapy or they only see them for a few weeks for a “tune-up” knowing there is no long-term reimbursement for the limited outcomes. Solution NextStep Robotics is providing clinics the ability to offer personalized robotic therapy to patients through adaptive software, which provides a personalized assist as needed approach. This is the first ever clinically proven option to effectively treat foot drop. Our robot is easy to use and designed to be run by lower skilled clinic staff, freeing up therapists to focus on more hands-on modalities. As we collect more patient data, the software will transition into an AI-based system to assess and assign training protocols optimized for each patient’s deficit. Real Results 85% of participants in a small randomized study, self discarded their ankle foot orthotics or reduced dependance of their assistive devices. *Forrester LW, Roy A, Hafer-Macko C, Krebs HI, Macko RF. Task-specific ankle robotics gait training after stroke: a randomized pilot study. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 2016;13:51.