Rodent Robotic Motor Performance System (RRMPS):

The RRMPS is a rodent treadmill that passively records the position of the ankle as the animal walks on the belt. It also has the ability to actively apply forces to the ankle as the animal takes steps. The standard method is to actively guide the hindlimbs through a healthy pre-injury pattern. This is how robotic gait trainers operate in the clinic. However, we have never been convinced that a pre-injury pattern is the best environment to train a post-injury nervous system. The RRMPS can be programmed in innumerable ways. We are currently investigating the ability of novel training patterns such as asymmetric steps with exaggerated characteristics as well as novel force fields like negative viscosity to enhance locomotor recovery following spinal cord injury.