By Kim Young Deok and Lee Jihae

Seoul Metropolitan Children's Hospital on Nov. 3 announced the opening of a center using state-of-the-art rehabilitation robots to treat those experiencing difficulty in walking.

Children with problems with walking due to cerebral palsy or other diseases are aided by a high-tech rehabilitation robot at a treatment room, receiving rehabilitative treatment based on their walking patterns.

The Swiss-based company Hocoma developed the world's first robot for walking treatment called Lokomat Pro, the world's most widely used in the rehabilitation of neurological patients.

The robot's acute sensors detect a patient's movements and induce proper walking. The hospital said the robot's treatment is more precise and safer than the previous training.

The hospital plans to adopt in phases high-tech rehabilitation gear, including those for upper limbs, in the wake of the robot's introduction.

Hospital president Choi Jin-sook said, "Our adoption of the walking rehabilitation robots offers the opportunity to go up a level through state-of-the-art rehabilitation service," adding, "We will continue our leading role in pediatric rehabilitation."

Located in Seoul's Seocho-gu District, the hospital is the country's lone public medical facility to specialize in the rehabilitation of disabled children.

More information on robot walking treatment is available on the hospital's website (in Korean only): http://childhosp.seoul.go.kr.

kyd1991@korea.kr