Penrose hospital gets new rehab technology equipment

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. (KRDO) - The Outpatient Rehabilitation Team at Penrose Hospital just got some brand new technology to treat patients recovering from strokes, concussions, and many other types of brain injuries.

This new equipment can also help with orthopedic conditions or injuries, balance problems, dizziness, motion, or visual sensitivity.

This brand new machine is known as the Bertec Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP/IVR). It uses video-game-like activities to help patients with mobility, balance.

The device places the person inside a virtual environment while standing on force plates which measure the function of the balance system during video game-like activities. This machine also helps with neurological exercises and ocular engagement.  

Bertec describes this as, “training with immersive, virtual stimuli that can increase patient motivation, adaptability, and variability- all factors that positively affect patient outcomes."

KRDO spoke with Roger Hill, a physical therapy patient at Penrose Hospital. He says this is not his first rodeo at therapy, but it is his first time whizzing a virtual plane past the clouds and trees projected on the screen surrounding him.

"I injured my back which caused a problem and a nerve in my right leg which caused me to have all these problems with balance," said Hill.

The BERTEC machine measures and trains patients' movement using virtual reality settings — like a sky or grocery store controlled entirely by the way they are moving

Roger suffered a concussion once after using strong medication that led him to therapy, but this time he hurt his back after putting in a new carburetor for his snowblower. He says since this injury his balance has been off, leading him to fall suddenly.

With this new technology he is hoping to gain his balance back slowly.

"It provides something sudden that you can't provide for yourself when you do the exercises you are supposed to do. You always know what is coming up when you are supposed to shift your foot or balance or something, with this machine and i surprises you," said Hill.

The way it works is simple, the physical therapist will usually put a background and you must do the exercises provided, for instance, if you get the grocery store background then you must follow the star or even bring down items virtually from the shelves.

This system also gives physical therapists good data that shows them what is wrong with their patient's body's balance system, allowing them to create a personalized treatment for the patient.

" This is is very effective," said Physical Therapist Assistant, Jennaya Colons.

At Penrose rehabilitation center, they've used it on 10 patients so far.

According to Penrose hospital, a machine like this can cost anywhere from $150,000 to $175,000--but therapists here believe it is worth the investment.