Increase in demand for home rehabilitation by IDF veterans

Over 100 veterans have received Active Passive Trainer (APT) rehabilitation devices manufactured by Tzora Active Systems since outbreak of coronavirus.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
APT devices are designed to rehabilitate a wide range of injuries and illnesses ranging from stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and cerebral palsy as well as for patients who have spinal cord injuries and need long-term rehabilitation. (photo credit: TZORA ACTIVE SYSTEMS)
APT devices are designed to rehabilitate a wide range of injuries and illnesses ranging from stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and cerebral palsy as well as for patients who have spinal cord injuries and need long-term rehabilitation.
(photo credit: TZORA ACTIVE SYSTEMS)
There has been a doubling in requests from disabled IDF veterans to the Defense Ministry for rehabilitation devices due to the coronavirus crisis.
The surge in requests for remote rehabilitation services (Tele-Rehab) and home rehabilitation devices has led Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer to expand its Tele-Rehab services. It will provide devices to patients who have stopped coming to physiotherapy centers out of concern they could contract the virus.
Sheba will send dozens of Active Passive Trainer (APT) rehabilitation devices manufactured by Tzora Active Systems to patients to use at home under remote supervision.
APT devices are designed to rehabilitate a wide range of illnesses, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy. They are also used for people with spinal-cord injuries who need long-term rehabilitation.
The devices can be placed on the floor or table, depending on the limb that requires training, and operated independently for passive or active practice.
Due to the high demand during the COVID-19 period, additional features have been introduced in the devices to enhance the user experience and the effectiveness of treatment. They include the installation of a motivation system to allow the patient to play computer games during therapy and a system that records the patient’s exercise results, which are sent to the therapist at the end of the session.
Demand from disabled IDF veterans to receive APT devices for home use has risen by more than 100%, a person familiar with the matter said. Following requests, the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division transferred 30 APT devices to disabled veterans for home use.
Two veterans who have asked for the service are Ron Weinreich, who became paralyzed from the waist down after a building collapsed on his tank during a Hezbollah strike during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and Eli Hayut, who was paralyzed during a Maglan commando training exercise in 2018.
Tzora Active Systems manufactures the Active Passive Trainer family of exercise rehabilitation trainers for upper or lower limbs and is a leader in the field. It has received a large number of requests for APT devices in recent weeks because many people are afraid to come to rehabilitation centers and prefer to get treatment at home, CEO Eyal Sadot said.
“As a result of the coronavirus, remote rehabilitation is being increasingly used, and we decided to go directly to their homes,” he told The Jerusalem Post. There are already some 100 APT devices that have been given to IDF veterans, he said.
“The veterans didn’t know that they could have this service at home,” he said. “But the longer they saw that they couldn’t have their rehabilitation at Beit Halochem or physiotherapy centers because of corona, they began asking for it. During corona, it is very dangerous to meet with people, especially those who are in high-risk groups like these veterans.”
With the devices in their homes, patients can do their exercises daily rather than once or twice a week.
“The more you do the exercises, the better it is,” Sadot said. “This provides them with a daily solution, and they can do their exercises in front of their TVs or with the motivational system we’ve added. It helps their recovery much more than if it is done once a week at their health center or Beit Halochem.”
In addition to transferring the systems to patients, Sheba and Tzora Active Systems will also carry out a study on the effectiveness of home rehabilitation using APT devices
“The cooperation between Tzora and Sheba Medical Center will ensure the expanded use of advanced knowledge and technologies, which will significantly improve the quality of life of people with disabilities who are assisted by the Sheba-Milbat collaboration, and in the future of all users of Sheba’s remote medical services,” Prof. Israel Dudkiewicz, acting director of the Rehabilitation Department at Sheba Medical Center, said in a press release. Milbat is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the disabled.
“We also intend to promote joint research that will lead to the development of new and advanced telemedicine technologies for the benefit of patients in Israel and around the world,” he said.


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Defense Ministry
disability