July 18, 2012
Panasonic develops a Digital training Mirror for medical rehabilitation
by bharatRegaining proper fitness after a stroke or an accident is a very cumbersome process, many patients due to lack of adequate physiotherapy and rehabilitation exercises never recover from their deformities. But that is set to change in Japan where Panasonic is accepting orders for a Digital Mirror developed for medical rehabs. The digital mirror that’ll presently be sold to hospitals and nursing homes in the Kinki region of Japan is priced at about $35,412. The Digital Mirror with an embedded camera can record the recovery of a patient and store it for future reference from the front. The Mirror trains patients with exercise programs like stretching, muscle strengthening and balancing exercises.
Besides the preprogrammed training schedule, the Digital Mirror is capable of six types of measurements used in rehabilitation such as: (1) “balancing on one foot with opened eyes,” (2) “functional reach,” (3) “Timed Up & Go,” (4) “the length of barycentric orbit,” (5) “measurement of range of motion” and (6) “measurement of tilt.” The Digital Mirror can be accompanied with a separate camera to record measurement results from two directions.