Subduing Severe Ataxia Symptoms

Subduing Severe Ataxia Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis with Mollii

Case Study Summary – Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, by Sheila Marsden

A 40 year old man with severe ataxia and primary progressive multiple sclerosis had engaged with various rehabilitation strategies over 3 years but with little progress and gradual deterioration. He had lost the ability to stand within one year due to the severity of the ataxia and in the last year he had needed hoist or slide transfers between chair and bed.

The goals for trying Mollii were to reduce the time taken and improve the smoothness of movement when using his water bottle, to improve the speed, control and quality of movement when transferring, to explore walking 100 metres with a frame and to try to play with a ball with his 18 month old son.  This was tested at a successful initial assessment and subsequently during a 3 month trial rental, supported by his NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.

His NHS Community Neurological Rehabilitation team recorded results during the 3 month trial and showed significant progress in all measures including him being able to play with a ball with his son and walking 100 metres with a pulpit frame and 2 attendants.  The team concluded that regular use of the Mollii Suit with active therapy had helped subdue the sever ataxia, enabling a significant carry-over effect on his functional performance. 

The success of the trial persuaded the CCG to agree to fund the purchase of his own Suit for his on-going therapy.  The full case study was accepted as a poster presentation by Sheila at the European Congress for NeuroRehabilitation, Budapest, October 2019 for which Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Remotion Ltd co-sponsored her costs to attend.