Development of a Novel Rollator Equipped with a Motor-Driven Chest Support Pad and Investigation of its Effectiveness

In recent years, a rapid increase in bedridden elderly, due to cerebral strokes and other diseases, has become a social problem due to soaring medical costs and heavy burden of long term care support. Therefore, development of walk rehabilitation devices for the elderly, suffered from cerebral strokes, is strongly expected. In the research so far, the authors have developed a rollator with a chest support pad that can rotate freely with one degree of freedom, and the effectiveness of its walk assistance was evaluated. In this study, a novel rollator using a motor-driven chest support pad was developed. A compact system to combine data collect system and motor control was configured. Walk measurements for six subjects were conducted using the developed rollator. The relationship between the movements of the lower limbs and rotation of the motor driven chest support pad was investigated. Time series and power spectrum results were analyzed, and the effectiveness of the motor-driven chest support pad on movement of the lower limb during walking was discussed.

Measurements and Analyses of Walk Using a Novel Rollator Equipped with a Rotatable Chest Pad

In recent years, different types of commercial rollators or gait-training devices have been widely used by elderly people, suffering from dementia, for their daily activities to avoid being bedridden. However, the effectiveness of most of these commercial devices has not been investigated thoroughly. In this study, a novel rollator with a freely rotating chest pad, integrated with two angular sensors and two load cells, was developed. Walk measurements were carried out on four young healthy subjects who performed walk tests using the developed rollator. To measure the motion of the lower limbs, two goniometers were attached to the exteriors of both the knees, and two more were attached to the exteriors of both the ankle joints of the subjects. The results of the pressing forces on the pad measured by the load cells, pad rotations, knee extensions, and ankle rotations were demonstrated. Frequency analyses were performed and correlation coefficients were computed for the obtained results. The relationship between the pad rotation and the motion of the lower limbs was investigated, and the effectiveness of the developed novel rollator in walk assistance was discussed.

Development of closed-fitting-type walking assistance device for legs and evaluation of muscle activity

A walking assistance device using a flexible shaft was developed. The combination of a flexible shaft with a worm gear was successfully adopted on this device to simplify its appearance and reduce its size. A hybrid - control system on this device controls both torque and angle at the ankle and knee joints. In this system, the torsional spring constant of the flexible shaft is taken into account by the motor in controlling the power and angle of rotation of the motor. To expand the area in which a person may use the device, it is equipped with a self-contained system powered by a Lithium-ion battery and controlled by an SH-4 microcomputer and actuators, consisting of motors and gears, all of which are carried in a small backpack. Consequently, persons using the device may walk freely in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Development of Closed-Fitting-Type Walking Assistance Device for Legs with Self-Contained Control System

A walking assistance device using a flexible shaft was developed. The combination of a flexible shaft with a worm gear was successfully adopted on this device to simplify its appearance and reduce its size. A hybridcontrol system on this device controls both torque and angle at the ankle and knee joints. In this system, the torsional spring constant of the flexible shaft is taken into account by the motor in controlling the power and angle of rotation of the motor. To expand the area in which a person may use the device, it is equipped with a self-contained system powered by a Lithium-ion battery and controlled by an SH-4 microcomputer and actuators, consisting of motors and gears, all of which are carried in a small backpack. Consequently, persons using the device may walk freely in both indoor and outdoor environments.