SCMP News4/6/2026Salud1 min de lecturaChina
Robot-Assisted Video Game Helps Children with SMA Rebuild Strength
En resumen
- A new robot-assisted video game therapy is helping children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) rebuild strength.
- Six children in China, aged 6-10, showed significant improvement after just a few weeks, enabling some to stand from a chair for the first time.
Resumen generado por IA
Tamaño de fuente
Depending on the severity, this condition can confine individuals to a wheelchair or leave them bedridden. It can also make eating and even breathing difficult, sometimes fatally so.
But a new tool has shown it can help SMA patients rebuild their strength. After just a few weeks of engaging with a video game, six children in China could stand up from a chair for the first time.
The children, aged six to 10, volunteered for a study that involved strapping a robot to their knees. The robot, weighing less than 1kg (nearly 2lbs), did not help them to move – instead, it resisted them. When they kicked, the robot made it a little harder.
This forced their muscles and nerves to work together, building muscle mass and strength.
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This article was originally published by SCMP News.
