Cutting-edge tools once reserved for astronauts and data scientists are now reshaping rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy.
Researchers from the ABI and @exercise_sciences_uoa are blending physics, medicine and machine learning to understand how movement breaks down – and how to restore it.
Imagine a child who’s needed help to walk their whole life because their muscles can’t quite do what their brain tells them to. Now, picture that child moving freely on a treadmill, lifting their arms in the air and laughing as they watch television.
It’s something being made possible by NASA-developed anti-gravity technology at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI), where researchers are confronting Aotearoa’s leading cause of childhood physical disability: cerebral palsy (CP).
Affecting an estimated one in 500 Kiwi kids, cerebral palsy stems from damage to the developing brain, which disrupts the signals that coordinate movement and posture. That disruption can make even simple movements slow, stiff or unbalanced. But the ‘Alter-G’ anti-gravity system being tested by children as part of a project at the ABI is redefining what physical control feels like.
At the start of each session, the kids are fitted with a heart-rate sensor and treadmill shorts that enclose their lower body in a sealed air chamber. As the chamber inflates, they’re lifted from the waist, unloading up to 80 percent of their body weight.
Next, they’re encouraged to explore new movements and to walk on their own – all while ABI researchers monitor their heart rate to keep them in a safe, moderate effort range.
By lightening their load, ABI team leader Dr Pablo Ortega-Auriol explains, the children can be more selective in activating the muscles that drive walking. "This helps retrain both muscles and neural circuits, leading to lasting improvements in gait and movement quality.”
The approach is delivering clear results – even once they emerge from their anti-gravity environment. Some children are walking up to 40 percent faster and farther, and families say they’re more active and confident beyond the sessions.
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