MISSOULA — Missoula just became one of the first places in the country to receive new innovative physical therapy equipment: a treadmill designed to help people learn to walk again.
It's called the Balance Tutor Treadmill, and it moves in four different directions. The idea is to simulate a trip or slip to help gauge the patient's balance and gait.
The equipment was previously only available in Israel and at trial labs in Europe and America.
Lewis Nashner invented the computer programming behind the treadmill.
"The folks here are particularly creative, and they're also early adapters," Nashner said. "So they're the first ones that actually made the decision to purchase one."
The design is FDA approved, and costs upwards of $100,000.
Nashner says larger cities, like Chicago and New York, are looking into rolling out the design.
