Effect of the Synchronization-Based Control of a Wearable Robot Having a Non-Exoskeletal Structure on the Hemiplegic Gait of Stroke Patients

IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Noriaki MizukamiMinoru Hashimoto

Abstract

We have been developing the robotic wear curara as both a welfare device and rehabilitation robot that assists the elderly and disabled. curara is aimed at user friendliness. We have, thus, chosen a non-exoskeleton structure made of a plastic so that the robot is as light in weight as possible and to minimize the restraining stress against natural human movement. We verified the assistance effect of curara on 15 hemiplegic patients with stroke by comparing gait parameters (i.e., velocity, step length, cadence, and symmetry of joint angles) among three conditions. The conditions were "without assistance" (i.e., a control mode that cancels frictional resistances in actuators), Condition A (where joint angles are enlarged but there is no change in gait cycle), and Condition B (where there is no change in joint angles but the gait cycle is shortened). curara improved the walking velocity by 19% and 27% under Conditions A and B, respectively. Improvements in step length and cadence were, respectively, 11% and 7% under Condition A and 14% and 11% under Condition B. Moreover, the two assistance conditions reduced the difference in joint angles between unaffected and paralyzed legs. We consider that curara will facilitate the rehabilit...Continue Reading

References

Jul 11, 2014·Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation·Hiroki WatanabeHisako Yanagi
Apr 19, 2015·Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation·Kota Z TakahashiGregory S Sawicki
Jun 17, 2015·Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation·Magdo BortoleJose L Contreras-Vidal
Jul 28, 2017·Science Translational Medicine·Louis N AwadConor J Walsh

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Citations

Sep 21, 2018·Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation·Atsushi TsukaharaMinoru Hashimoto
Sep 10, 2021·Biomedical Engineering Online·Akira MatsushimaKunihiro Yoshida

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