{"id":148064,"date":"2026-03-12T23:35:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148064"},"modified":"2026-03-12T23:35:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:35:43","slug":"500000-steps-counting-good-shepherd-tops-in-u-s-for-helping-patients-walk-in-self-balancing-robotic-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148064","title":{"rendered":"500,000 Steps & Counting: Good Shepherd Tops in U.S. for Helping Patients Walk in Self-Balancing Robotic Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Caption:<\/strong>\u00a0Kevin Oldt (right), who lives with a spinal cord injury, walks in Wandercraft’s Atalante X while Good Shepherd Rehabilitation physical therapists (left) monitor and support. (Photo Credit: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (March 12, 2026) \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0Good Shepherd Rehabilitation announced today it leaped past a major milestone using\u00a0hands-free robotic technology that helps patients facing spinal cord injury, stroke and other disabilities to stand up and walk.<\/p>\n

Good Shepherd<\/a>\u00a0and its patients surpassed 500,000 steps in\u00a0Wandercraft\u2019s\u00a0Atalante X<\/a><\/u>, an FDA-cleared, self-balancing robotic exoskeleton designed to help people living with neurological conditions to stand and walk in rehabilitation \u2014\u00a0making Good Shepherd Rehabilitation a “superuser” among 100-plus rehabilitation centers worldwide<\/strong>, according to\u00a0Wandercraft.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., Good Shepherd has been at the forefront of testing the technology with patients and is the\u00a0first rehabilitation center in 50 states<\/strong>\u00a0to surpass 500,000 steps.<\/p>\n

As part of their neurologic physical therapy treatment for spinal cord injuries, stroke and multiple sclerosis, patients at Good Shepherd\u2019s South Allentown Campus, 850 South 5th\u00a0Street, work in the hands-free robotic exoskeleton to stand up and walk. The technology program is under the trained guidance of Good Shepherd clinicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis achievement shows the outstanding work and commitment to robotics from the neurologic rehabilitation team,\u201d said James Kelley, PT, DPT, OCS, manager of rehabilitation services at Good Shepherd\u2019s Hyland Center for Health & Technology.<\/p>\n

Patients travel from all over eastern Pennsylvania to Hyland Center for the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe benefits of hands-free exoskeletons are improved endurance for patients, increased step counts during walking, better flexibility, the ability to use hands during functional balance activities, and pain and spasticity management,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cWe have noticed improved core activation and control in our patients following the use of Atalante X.\u201d<\/p>\n

The technology helps take treatment sessions to a whole new level for patients, both physically and mentally, said Leeann White, PTA, a Good Shepherd physical therapy assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients love the fact they can be upright and mobile,\u201d White said. \u201cSome have set personal challenges to achieve a specific amount of days in a standing position and achieving a certain step count and really look forward to their time spent in the device. Some really notice when they don\u2019t get time in it; their body just feels like it is missing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good Shepherd\u2019s team also trained recently on software upgrades for the AI-powered Atalante X.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new upgrade features now allow clinicians to specialize gait training even further, such as adjusting assistance or resistance separately at the hip or knee joints on each leg,\u201d said Julia Vandenberg, PT, DPT, clinical specialist in robotics at Good Shepherd. \u201cThe clinician can also adjust step length and execution speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The enhanced ability to fine-tune how the exoskeleton responds to and supports each patient allows clinicians to personalize therapy sessions more effectively. By adjusting the level and timing of assistance, therapists can align the technology with their clinical expertise and the patient\u2019s specific goals, creating a more individualized and responsive rehabilitation experience.<\/p>\n

Wandercraft\u2019s Atalante X\u00a0technology came to Good Shepherd courtesy of\u00a0The Fleming Center for Robotics in Rehabilitation<\/a><\/u>, a forward-thinking hub at Good Shepherd that identifies and evaluates robotic and wearable technology to further provide leading-edge rehabilitation care and, ultimately, contribute to the future of rehabilitation. The Fleming Center launched thanks to a major gift from the Fleming Foundation to Good Shepherd.<\/p>\n

To learn more about how robotic technology can help you or a loved one in their rehabilitation journey, visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.goodshepherdrehab.org<\/a>\u00a0or call\u00a01-888-447-3422<\/u>\u00a0(44-REHAB).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photo Caption:<\/strong>\u00a0A Good Shepherd Rehabilitation physical therapist monitors a patient (right) walking in Wandercraft’s Atalante X robotic exoskeleton at Good Shepherd in Allentown. (Photo Credit: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation)<\/p>\n

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About Good Shepherd Rehabilitation
\n<\/strong>Good Shepherd Rehabilitation<\/a><\/u>, an independent, not-for-profit rehabilitation network with more than 60 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is committed to transforming the lives of people of all ages and abilities through curiosity, creativity, expertise and innovation. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Good Shepherd specializes in treatment of spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, major multi-trauma, pulmonary disease, respiratory failure, musculoskeletal\/orthopedics and complex pediatric conditions. Good Shepherd also partners with Penn Medicine to provide rehabilitation and specialty services in the greater Philadelphia area and New Jersey through\u00a0GSPP Rehabilitation<\/a><\/u>. Info:\u00a0www.goodshepherdrehab.org<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

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Information provided to TVL by:
\nMike Walbert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Caption:\u00a0Kevin Oldt (right), who lives with a spinal cord injury, walks in Wandercraft’s Atalante X while Good Shepherd Rehabilitation physical therapists (left) monitor and support. (Photo Credit: Good Shepherd … Continue reading 500,000 Steps & Counting: Good Shepherd Tops in U.S. for Helping Patients Walk in Self-Balancing Robotic Technology<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/walker.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148064"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/148066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}