A procedure has been developed for THERA concept that is set to assist therapists in their clinical decision-making. Patients are assigned to sub-groups of specific interventions according to their capabilities. This makes it possible to use THERA-Trainer effectively in day-to-day clinical treatment and sensibly structure the device-based treatment measures.

Assessments are made to determine a patient’s cognitive abilities in a targeted manner. According to Platz and van Kaick, systematic and standardised recording of functional abilities and impairments is one of the fundamental tasks of modern therapy processes for enabling targets and appropriate measures to be determined together with the patients on the basis of results [1].
Modern rehabilitation concepts should always be based on careful evaluation of patient capabilities and a precise definition of targets. These are two significant elements of rationalised and conclusive rehabilitation management [2, 4].
Assessment instruments are currently largely based on the classification levels of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization (WHO) [1, 5]. The major benefit of the ICF is an underlying biopsychosocial approach, which facilitates an integrated and resource-oriented view of the patients [2]. According to the ICF, health problems are seen as the result of complex relationships between people, people-related factors and the environment [6].
A patient’s abilities are determined in terms of bodily functions and structures (e.g. postural control), activities (e.g. standing and walking) and participation (e.g. involvement in everyday life). The measurements required for this should always be taken at the start of the rehabilitation process and at regular intervals over the course of it. In this way, the effects of the treatment can be checked and the measures taken can be adjusted to the changing level of performance of a patient. In the long term, recommendations for improving the effectiveness of therapy can also be devised on the basis of documented results [7].
In practice, however, it is not always easy to select a suitable procedure for a specific application from the many assessments available worldwide [1]. Most rehabilitation facilities routinely use a selection of standardised survey procedures to determine the patient’s capabilities in conjunction with the ICF and formulate objectives with the patient. However, in many cases the relevant instruments are deployed only sporadically and often non-specifically. As a result of this, the motor abilities of patients are recorded inadequately in day-to-day treatment. Many of the detailed assessments include measurement procedures that, while useful, are often lengthy and require a great deal of time and routine work to be applied to obtain meaningful results. Data can often be used only to a limited extent in interdisciplinary exchanges, as other professional groups are not familiar with the procedures.
In a bid to structure the treatment measures in the context of the THERA concept, there was a pressing need to establish a simple yet valid instrument for assessing motor skills, which could be implemented and interpreted by all the professional groups involved in the rehabilitation process and make it possible to assign patients to treatment modules based on their capabilities.
The THERA concept assessment is derived from assessments that have been thoroughly clinically analysed and are tried-and-tested, such as the Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC) and the Static Balance Test (SBT), which in turn is based on elements of the Berg Balance Scale [8][9]. It records patient capabilities in terms of activity and must therefore be implemented in a task-oriented way and enable a quick and reliable assessment of postural control, the ability to stand and (in combination with the FAC) ability to walk.