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Choi HS, Baek YS. Effects of the degree of freedom and assistance characteristics of powered ankle-foot orthoses on gait stability. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242000. [PMID: 33170866 PMCID: PMC7654833 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied the use of powered ankle-foot orthoses (PAFOs) and walking stability of the wearers, focusing on the ankle joint, which is known to play a critical role in gait stability. Recognizing that the subtalar joint is an important modulator of walking stability, we conducted the walking experiment on a treadmill by applying varying assistance techniques to the 2-degree-of-freedom (DOF) PAFO, which has the subtalar joint as the rotating axis, and the commonly used 1-DOF PAFO. The participants were 8 healthy men (mean±SD: height, 174.8±7.1 cm; weight, 69.8±6.5 kg; and age, 29.1±4.8 years) with no history of gait abnormality. Center of pressure (COP) was measured with an in-shoe pressure sensor, and stability was estimated on the basis of the angular acceleration measured with the inertial measurement unit attached to the trunk. The experimental results of the 2-DOF PAFO, with or without assistance, showed a significantly higher stability than those of the 1-DOF PAFO (up to 23.78%, p<0.0326). With the 1-DOF PAFO, the stability deteriorated with the increase in the degree of assistance provided. With the 2-DOF PAFO, this tendency was not observed. Thus, the importance of the subtalar joint was proven using PAFOs. The mean position analysis of the COP during the stance phase confirmed that the COP highly correlated with stability (Pearson correlation coefficient: −0.6607). Thus, we conclude that only the 2-DOF PAFO can maintain walking stability, regardless of the assistance characteristics, by preserving the COP in the medial position through eversion. Awareness regarding the role of the subtalar joint is necessary during the manufacture or use of PAFOs, as lack of awareness could lead to the degradation of the wearer’s gait stability, regardless of effective assistance, and deteriorate the fundamental functionality of PAFO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ho Seon Choi
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoon Su Baek
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- * E-mail:
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Nankaku M, Tanaka H, Ikeguchi R, Kikuchi T, Miyamoto S, Matsuda S. Effects of walking distance over robot-assisted training on walking ability in chronic stroke patients. J Clin Neurosci 2020; 81:279-283. [PMID: 33222930 DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.09.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
An understanding of the dose-response during training is important to identify the rehabilitation programs to obtain the improvement in chronic stroke patients. The purpose of this study was to determine whether distance-dose (distance walked across all sessions) during robot-assisted training affects the change of walking speed and distance in chronic stroke patients after intervention. Fifteen chronic stroke patients were enrolled in this study. The patients performed 8 gait training sessions using the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) for 3 weeks. Gait speed, stride length, cadence, and 2-minute walk test (2MWT) were measured before and post-intervention. Total walking distance (distance walked across all sessions) in individual patients were also measured. Gait speed, stride length, cadence, and 2-minute walk test (2MWT) improved significantly after training. The average of walking distance for 8 sessions in individual patients was 3793.3 ± 2105.3 m. Moreover, the change of gait speed (r = 0.53) and 2MWT (r = 0.70) were positively correlated with the walking distance during 8 sessions. This study of finding demonstrated that greater total distance walked over all sessions of training using the HAL is directly associated with the better walking outcomes in patients with chronic stroke. Further researches with a larger number of patients and a control group are needed to quantify the study results more precisely.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hiroki Tanaka
- Rehabilitation Unit, Kyoto University Hospital, Japan
| | | | - Takayuki Kikuchi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan
| | - Susumu Miyamoto
- Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan
| | - Shuichi Matsuda
- Rehabilitation Unit, Kyoto University Hospital, Japan; Department of Orthropedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan
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Nuckols RW, Takahashi KZ, Farris DJ, Mizrachi S, Riemer R, Sawicki GS. Mechanics of walking and running up and downhill: A joint-level perspective to guide design of lower-limb exoskeletons. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231996. [PMID: 32857774 PMCID: PMC7454943 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Lower-limb wearable robotic devices can improve clinical gait and reduce energetic demand in healthy populations. To help enable real-world use, we sought to examine how assistance should be applied in variable gait conditions and suggest an approach derived from knowledge of human locomotion mechanics to establish a 'roadmap' for wearable robot design. We characterized the changes in joint mechanics during walking and running across a range of incline/decline grades and then provide an analysis that informs the development of lower-limb exoskeletons capable of operating across a range of mechanical demands. We hypothesized that the distribution of limb-joint positive mechanical power would shift to the hip for incline walking and running and that the distribution of limb-joint negative mechanical power would shift to the knee for decline walking and running. Eight subjects (6M,2F) completed five walking (1.25 m s-1) trials at -8.53°, -5.71°, 0°, 5.71°, and 8.53° grade and five running (2.25 m s-1) trials at -5.71°, -2.86°, 0°, 2.86°, and 5.71° grade on a treadmill. We calculated time-varying joint moment and power output for the ankle, knee, and hip. For each gait, we examined how individual limb-joints contributed to total limb positive, negative and net power across grades. For both walking and running, changes in grade caused a redistribution of joint mechanical power generation and absorption. From level to incline walking, the ankle's contribution to limb positive power decreased from 44% on the level to 28% at 8.53° uphill grade (p < 0.0001) while the hip's contribution increased from 27% to 52% (p < 0.0001). In running, regardless of the surface gradient, the ankle was consistently the dominant source of lower-limb positive mechanical power (47-55%). In the context of our results, we outline three distinct use-modes that could be emphasized in future lower-limb exoskeleton designs 1) Energy injection: adding positive work into the gait cycle, 2) Energy extraction: removing negative work from the gait cycle, and 3) Energy transfer: extracting energy in one gait phase and then injecting it in another phase (i.e., regenerative braking).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard W. Nuckols
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University and Wyss Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kota Z. Takahashi
- Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Dominic J. Farris
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, St Luke's Campus, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Sarai Mizrachi
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Raziel Riemer
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Gregory S. Sawicki
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
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Abstract
Since the early 2000s, researchers have been trying to develop lower-limb exoskeletons that augment human mobility by reducing the metabolic cost of walking and running versus without a device. In 2013, researchers finally broke this 'metabolic cost barrier'. We analyzed the literature through December 2019, and identified 23 studies that demonstrate exoskeleton designs that improved human walking and running economy beyond capable without a device. Here, we reviewed these studies and highlighted key innovations and techniques that enabled these devices to surpass the metabolic cost barrier and steadily improve user walking and running economy from 2013 to nearly 2020. These studies include, physiologically-informed targeting of lower-limb joints; use of off-board actuators to rapidly prototype exoskeleton controllers; mechatronic designs of both active and passive systems; and a renewed focus on human-exoskeleton interface design. Lastly, we highlight emerging trends that we anticipate will further augment wearable-device performance and pose the next grand challenges facing exoskeleton technology for augmenting human mobility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory S Sawicki
- The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Owen N Beck
- The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Inseung Kang
- The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Aaron J Young
- The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Li Z, Li J, Zhao S, Yuan Y, Kang Y, Chen CLP. Adaptive Neural Control of a Kinematically Redundant Exoskeleton Robot Using Brain-Machine Interfaces. IEEE Trans Neural Netw Learn Syst 2019; 30:3558-3571. [PMID: 30346293 DOI: 10.1109/tnnls.2018.2872595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, a closed-loop control has been developed for the exoskeleton robot system based on brain-machine interface (BMI). Adaptive controllers in joint space, a redundancy resolution method at the velocity level, and commands that generated from BMI in task space have been integrated effectively to make the robot perform manipulation tasks controlled by human operator's electroencephalogram. By extracting the features from neural activity, the proposed intention decoding algorithm can generate the commands to control the exoskeleton robot. To achieve optimal motion, a redundancy resolution at the velocity level has been implemented through neural dynamics optimization. Considering human-robot interaction force as well as coupled dynamics during the exoskeleton operation, an adaptive controller with redundancy resolution has been designed to drive the exoskeleton tracking the planned trajectory in human brain and to offer a convenient method of dynamics compensation with minimal knowledge of the dynamics parameters of the exoskeleton robot. Extensive experiments which employed a few subjects have been carried out. In the experiments, subjects successfully fulfilled the given manipulation tasks with convergence of tracking errors, which verified that the proposed brain-controlled exoskeleton robot system is effective.
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Morone G. Robots for stroke rehabilitation: not all that glitters is gold. Funct Neurol 2019; 34:5-6. [PMID: 31172933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
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Abstract
Research on robotic exoskeletons has rapidly expanded over the previous decade. Advances in robotic hardware and energy supplies have enabled viable prototypes for human testing. This review paper describes current lower limb robotic exoskeletons, with specific regard to common trends in the field. The preponderance of published literature lacks rigorous quantitative evaluations of exoskeleton performance, making it difficult to determine the disadvantages and drawbacks of many of the devices. We analyzed common approaches in exoskeleton design and the convergence, or lack thereof, with certain technologies. We focused on actuators, sensors, energy sources, materials, and control strategies. One of the largest hurdles to be overcome in exoskeleton research is the user interface and control. More intuitive and flexible user interfaces are needed to increase the success of robotic exoskeletons. In the last section, we discuss promising future solutions to the major hurdles in exoskeleton control. A number of emerging technologies could deliver substantial advantages to existing and future exoskeleton designs. We conclude with a listing of the advantages and disadvantages of the emerging technologies and discuss possible futures for the field.
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Kefaliakos A, Pliakos I, Kalokerinou A, Mechili A, Diomidous M. ROBOT - Assisted Rehabilitation in Patients After Stroke. Stud Health Technol Inform 2014; 202:316. [PMID: 25000084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
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