Clinical Study

Device-Training for Individuals with Thoracic and Lumbar Spinal Cord Injury Using a Powered Exoskeleton for Technically Assisted Mobility: Achievements and User Satisfaction

Figure 3

Quality of life at the commencement of the exoskeleton device-training. Presented are baseline group () mean values (rhomb) and 95 confidence intervals (CI) (whiskers) for each of the 8 domains of the SF-12v2, that is, physical functioning (PF), role physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role emotional (RE), and mental health (MH), in addition to the summary measures, physical and mental component summary scales (Phys and Ment). The SF-12v2 data presented had been score standardized based on 1998 general US population data. When both mean and CI are <0, a lower than average QoL in that domain is documented, while there is higher than average QoL when both mean and CI are >0. When the CI includes 0, the group did not significantly deviate from the norm. While, for most domains, the groups’ data did not significantly deviate from the norm, physical functioning (PF) and the physical component summary scale were significantly lower in the group compared to the norm. Conversely, the mental component summary scale indicated a higher QoL among the trained individuals with SCI.