Walking and balance exercise device

An apparatus for providing physical therapy exercise to a patient comprising:

• a base;
• a pelvis support unit for fitting to the pelvis of the patient, the pelvis support unit coupled to the base and having a first actuator for selectively applying force to the pelvis support unit in a vertical direction relative to the base;
• a torso support unit for fitting to the torso of the patient, the torso support unit coupled to the base and having a powered articulation actuable about at least one axis relative to the base, the articulation being independent of the first actuator of the pelvis support unit;
• sensors associated with the pelvis support unit and the torso support unit to sense the position of the pelvis support unit and the torso support unit relative to the base;
• and
• a control unit coupled to the sensors and to the first actuator of the pelvis support unit and the powered articulation of the torso support unit to selectively apply a force or torque to the pelvis support unit and the torso support unit relative to the base.

An apparatus for providing physical therapy to a patient comprising:

• a base;
• a torso support system coupled to the base affixable to an upper part of a torso of the patient, the torso support system having a powered articulation actuable around at least two axes of motion relative to the base;
• sensors associated with the torso support unit for sensing the spatial position of the torso support unit;
• and
• a control unit coupled to the sensors and the powered articulation for selectively applying a torque of a selected magnitude around one or both axes of rotation in selected angular directions.

An apparatus for providing physical therapy exercise to a patient comprising:

• a base;
• a pelvis support unit for fitting to the pelvis of a patient for supporting a portion of the patient's weight in a vertical direction;
• and
• a parallelogram linkage coupling the pelvis support unit to the base, the parallelogram linkage permitting rotation of the patient's pelvis in a plane orthogonal to the vertical direction.