North Middlesex

FITCHBURG — A wearable robotic device is helping students at the Keystone Educational Collaborative learn to walk.

Since June, seven students have been using the Trexo Gait Trainer on a daily basis, Keystone said in a press release. The device is in use at Keystone’s Fitchburg facility and is the second device of its kind for multi-student use in the state.

As a person uses the Trexo, it guides them through taking a series of sequential steps. While users are taking their steps, a physical therapist monitors their performance. The physical therapist can also see when the user is initiating independent movement through data transferred from the device to a tablet.

With data from the device in hand, physical therapists are able to help make adjustments in the user’s walking pattern, the speed they are moving, the amount of weight bearing and the level of support the device will provide.

The collaborative said the Trexo is different from standard gait trainers, which are not robotic because it allows for “crucial” increased repetition — especially for users who have neurological impairments. The device also allows for “functional stretching” and “alignment correction needs.”

In a standard gait trainer, it would be incumbent upon the physical therapists to replicate walking patterns.

“Standard gait trainer methods are very effective, but are labor-intensive for therapists,” Director of Physical Therapy Amanda Costella said in the press release. “The Trexo Robotic Gait Trainer bridges that gap to allow for longer duration and a high repetition of steps, which helps our students lay down a solid framework for walking.”

Keystone won the Trexo on a one-year lease at no cost through a contest giveaway. Staff, member districts and families formed a grassroots campaign to encourage voting — which placed Keystone in the top two vote-getters for the contest. Typically the device would cost $75,000 and is not covered by insurance.

“As a small program in Central Massachusetts, winning was fairly far-fetched, but our team was extremely dedicated,” Costella said. “We made flyers, reached out to our member districts and communities — everyone got involved. There was tremendous energy surrounding the competition and it really unified our community.”

In the future, Keystone hopes to engage donors so they can purchase the device.

“At Keystone Educational Collaborative, mobility training and adaptive equipment support is an intricate component in our student’s plan of care. This device is so special and students will have access to it every single day for a prescribed period of time,” Executive Director John Demanche said. “We are confident that this state-of-the-art resource will help generate quality outcomes.”

Based in Shirley, the Keystone Educational Collaborative specializes in teaching children with a range of complex neurological, physical and educational needs from Middlesex and Worcester Counties, including students who have difficulty walking and/or use wheelchairs.

Keystone serves school districts in the Nashoba Valley and North Central Massachusetts regions, including the districts of Ashburnham, Westminster, Ayer-Shirley, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Lunenburg, North Middlesex and Winchendon.

“Obtaining a device of this caliber is a reminder of the Keystone staff’s unwavering advocacy for their students’ best interests,” Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives Executive Director Joanne Haley Sullivan said.

To see the Trexo in action, visit vimeo.com/743092617.