Equipment specifications for supported treadmill ambulation training

Supported Treadmill Ambulation Training (STAT) is a mode of therapy for gai t retraining for patients with spinal cord injuries or other upper motor ne uron dysfunction. The STAT program involves simultaneously supporting a por tion of the patient's weight while gait training on a treadmill. STAT has b een successful in improving the gait of many research subjects, but has not been widely applied in clinical practice. The goal of this study was to ac quire practical, clinically useful information regarding this therapeutic i ntervention in order to remove barriers to its use. This manuscript enumera tes equipment specifications for the treadmill, body weight support (BWS) s ystem, and harness. The ergonomics of the work space are also considered, s ince the therapist(s) will need access to the patient's legs during therapy . The specific recommendations were determined through prior clinical exper ience, consultation of anthropometric tables, and application of engineerin g principles. The guide lines listed are intended to facilitate safe and ef fective application of the therapy at minimum hardware cost.