Pedalling for the health of it: Sault-made machine aids healing in patients.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: NEWS

Combining two of his passions--cycling and physiotherapy---has led Andre Riopel to develop a therapeutic pedalling machine that could assist patients with injuries and impairments to improve their health more quickly than using traditional methods.

The Viscus--named for viscosity, or the thickness of liquid--is a bicycle-like ma- i chine that employs flywheel technology to help people move. Riopel, a physiotherapist and avid cycling enthusiast, first came up with the technology three decades ago, but is ready to introduce to the world his most recent iteration of the device.

"When you're in the (physiotherapy) field, you see the world differently, because the people who invent stuff are not necessarily the people who actually use it, especially exercise equipment," he said.

By day, Riopel runs Back in Motion Physiotherapy in Sault Ste. Marie. He saw that a need existed for a way to help increase mobility in people who are frail or elderly, who have neurological conditions or severe arthritis, or who are recovering from stroke or other impairments.

Orthopaedic medicine has changed drastically since the 1970s when patients were casted and kept immobile to help heal injuries--a practice Riopel said did more harm than good. Now, physicians prescribe movement to keep joints lubricated and prevent them from seizing up.

Riopel began by making modifications to existing bikes, and found that the flywheel allowed users to keep pedalling with little effort. As the machine is used more, the patient's strength is increased, which allows them to exercise more often and improve their overall mobility.

The device is designed to be used so that it can be pedalled by foot or by hand, all while the user is seated. They can be watching TV or playing cards while using it, and because it requires little effort, users can find themselves using it for longer.

"When you take somebody who's very frail and elderly and they start to pedal, the momentum of the flywheel keeps their legs going, so it's very much akin to sitting in a rocking chair," Riopel explained.

"Once you start rocking or swinging on a swing, the inertia of the movement takes you easily around the dead points."

Early prototypes have been used--and in some cases are still in use--at Sault Area Hospital (SAH), Laurentian Hospital in Sudbury, and various long-term care facilities throughout the province. Most recently, patients at the renal dialysis unit at SAH have been using them while receiving...