Robotic exoskeletons could help people with cerebral palsy maintain the ability to walk -- and offer a replacement for costly and invasive orthopedic procedures. Cerebral palsy is the leading cause of childhood disability in the United States, affecting about 3.3 children per 1,000 births. The neurological disorder is a lifelong affliction that can have a devastating impact on an individual's mobility, even when managed well with current physical and occupational therapies. But a new robotic design could significantly improve mobility outcomes. A recent study in the journal Science Translational Medicine found that wearing a robotic exoskeleton – a leg brace powered by small motors – helped children achieve significant mobility improvement.

An exoskeleton suit has helped children with cerebral palsy to walk. Experts tested the device on seven children that are suffering from the disorder in a clinical trial. Each of them were having difficulty walking, with their knees starting to slope inwards. But a video of them walking in the exoskeleton suit showed noticeable improvements. It helped to improve knee extension for the children and made their walking more fluid while wearing the device.

Kids with cerebral palsy (CP) can have limited movement (and therefore independence) throughout their lives. Some of them who experience the related set of neurological and movement disorders have what's called "crouch gait," which is characterized by excessive bending at the knee; up to 50 percent of people with cerebral palsy stop walking by adulthood. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been testing robotic leg exoskeletons that help kids with CP walk more easily. According to the researchers, six of the seven study participants showed improved knee extension and were able to walk with robotic assistance after just six trials. The exoskeletons are more than just a brace; they actively support a walking posture in kids with cerebral palsy without taking control away from the children themselves.

If you are a child with the most common childhood physical disability, cerebral palsy, there is only a 50 per cent chance that you will still be able to walk as an adult. Robotic exoskeletons may just be about to change that. Some clinics already have bulky robotic devices that support children with cerebral palsy so they can practise walking. But these are usually attached to a ceiling pulley system and so cannot be used at home. The new device, developed at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, is completely mobile.

In the U.S., 3.6 out of 1000 school-aged children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). Their symptoms include abnormal gait patterns which results in joint degeneration over time. Slow walking speed, reduced range of motion of the joints, small step length, large body sway, and absence of a heel strike are other difficulties that children with CP experience. A subset of these children exhibit crouch gait which is characterized by excessive flexion of the hips, knees, or ankles. A team led by Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering and of rehabilitation and regenerative medicine at Columbia Engineering, has published a pilot study in Science Robotics that demonstrates a robotic training method that improves posture and walking in children with crouch gait by enhancing their muscle strength and coordination.