KUCHING: Normah Medical Specialist Centre (NMSC) achieved another milestone by being the first hospital in Sabah and Sarawak that provides high-tech rehabilitation services using robotic therapy.
The therapy available since September last year uses the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) from Japan technology for faster rehabilitation of its patients.
According to NMSC medical executive president Dr Tan Sian Kong, the robotic therapy compliments conventional physiotherapy and occupational therapy at its rehabilitation centre by improving, supporting, expanding, and regenerating the patient’s function.
“While conventional rehabilitation is effective, it can often take longer for the patient’s recovery, and this may lead to frustration and lack of motivation.
“To address this issue, we wanted to find other ways to make the rehabilitation process more encouraging, effective, and enjoyable for our patients, leading us to explore the potential of robotic therapy,” he said during the launching of the first robotic therapy services in East Malaysia at NMSC here today.
Explaining further, he said robotic rehabilitation services here use the world’s first wearable cyborg that can provide more engaging, interactive, and personalised therapy for their patients.
“This type of robotic therapy delivers high-dosage and high-intensity training, making it possible for patients with motor disorders to exert bigger motor energy.
“With our robotic therapy, patients can see real-time progress and improvements, keeping them motivated and engaged to continue their rehabilitation programme,” he said.
Having said that, Tan revealed that for future plans, NMSC is committed to expanding its Rehabilitation Department to cater for more patients, more equipment and include a wider range of services and treatment.
“We understand that rehabilitation is a critical part of the healing process. That is why we want to make sure that our patients have access to the best possible care.
“With that, our team of highly skilled and certified therapists will continuously explore new and innovative treatments to improve patient recovery,” he said.
For the record, NMSC offers three types of HAL devices which are HAL Lower Limb Type, HAL Single Joint Type, and HAL Lumbar Type.
By electrodes attached to the skin surface of the patients, these robotic devices recognise and analyse movements the patients intend to make and assist these motions by exerting bigger power than the patients can exert on their own. And this interaction between patient and robot facilitates neuroplasticity.
