"ZeroG" Fights Damage Caused By Strokes

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Colton Peek considered himself an active and healthy guy in his forties. So, he had no idea what was happening to him.

"I go into my kitchen stumbling around trying to get some water. I started having shortness of breath and realized, okay, something is really really wrong, " explains Colton.

Colton was having a stroke, sometimes described as a "brain attack."

The stroke paralyzed his left side and left his speech severely impaired.

"I just don't believe that I'm really as sick as I eventually find out," says Peek.

Doctors at Washington Hospital Center told Colton he would have to learn basic functions like walking, writing, even eating all over again.

To help his recovery as much as possible, Colton was sent to the National Rehabilitation Hospital where he started working with a theraputic device called ZeroG.

Joe Hidler Ph.D, a former researcher at Catholic University, helped to create ZeroG.

Hidler explains that, "ZeroG is an overground body weight support system that allows patients early after their stroke or traumatic brain injury to get up and safely practice walking and balance tasks."

Dr. Hidler says the ZeroG's harness-like structure safely suspends patient. It has a vertical lift and small motors that simulate zero gravity.

"So, it's very much like walking on the moon! We can control how their body accelerates or decelerates up and down." says Hidler.

The two components allow therapists to better match the intensity of the rehab with how well that patient functions at any given time.

"What it does is tries to keep the system right above the patient. As they walk, it follows them along," says Hidler.

For Colton it helped rebuild his balance in just a month. Colton was at the rehab center from May to June.

"It helped me build my confidence knowing that it was going to help me build my balance, it was going to help me walk. I had the security of knowing that I wasn't going to get hurt."

Today, Colton is home and still making progress. Currently, he is able to walk the length of his entire hallway with a cane.

The ZeroG device is also being reviewed to be used with traumatic brain injuries.