scholarly journals Lower-Limb Wearable Exoskeleton

Author(s):  
J.L. Pons ◽  
J.C. Moreno ◽  
F.J. Brunetti ◽  
E. Roco
Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Cardona ◽  
Cecilia E. García Cena ◽  
Fernando Serrano ◽  
Roque Saltaren

Objective: In this article, we present the conceptual development of a robotics platform, called ALICE (Assistive Lower Limb Controlled Exoskeleton), for kinetic and kinematic gait characterization. The ALICE platform includes a robotics wearable exoskeleton and an on-board muscle driven simulator to estimate the user’s kinetic parameters. Background: Even when the kinematics patterns of the human gait are well studied and reported in the literature, there exists a considerable intra-subject variability in the kinetics of the movements. ALICE aims to be an advanced mechanical sensor that allows us to compute real-time information of both kinetic and kinematic data, opening up a new personalized rehabilitation concept. Methodology: We developed a full muscle driven simulator in an open source environment and validated it with real gait data obtained from patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. After that, we designed, modeled, and controlled a 6 DoF lower limb exoskeleton with inertial measurement units and a position/velocity sensor in each actuator. Significance: This novel concept aims to become a tool for improving the diagnosis of pathological gait and to design personalized robotics rehabilitation therapies. Conclusion: ALICE is the first robotics platform automatically adapted to the kinetic and kinematic gait parameters of each patient.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Moreno ◽  
Fernando Brunetti ◽  
Enrique Navarro ◽  
Arturo Forner-Cordero ◽  
José L. Pons

The design of a wearable robotic exoskeleton needs to consider the interaction, either physical or cognitive, between the human user and the robotic device. This paper presents a method to analyse the interaction between the human user and a unilateral, wearable lower-limb exoskeleton. The lower-limb exoskeleton function was to compensate for muscle weakness around the knee joint. It is shown that the cognitive interaction is bidirectional; on the one hand, the robot gathered information from the sensors in order to detect human actions, such as the gait phases, but the subjects also modified their gait patterns to obtain the desired responses from the exoskeleton. The results of the two-phase evaluation of learning with healthy subjects and experiments with a patient case are presented, regarding the analysis of the interaction, assessed in terms of kinematics, kinetics and/or muscle recruitment. Human-driven response of the exoskeleton after training revealed the improvements in the use of the device, while particular modifications of motion patterns were observed in healthy subjects. Also, endurance (mechanical) tests provided criteria to perform experiments with one post-polio patient. The results with the post-polio patient demonstrate the feasibility of providing gait compensation by means of the presented wearable exoskeleton, designed with a testing procedure that involves the human users to assess the human-robot interaction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mantian Li ◽  
Jing Deng ◽  
Fusheng Zha ◽  
Shiyin Qiu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
...  

Exoskeleton robots demonstrate promise in their application in assisting or enhancing human physical capacity. Joint muscular torques (JMT) reflect human effort, which can be applied on an exoskeleton robot to realize an active power-assist function. The estimation of human JMT with a wearable exoskeleton is challenging. This paper proposed a novel human lower limb JMT estimation method based on the inverse dynamics of the human body. The method has two main parts: the inverse dynamic approach (IDA) and the sensing system. We solve the inverse dynamics of each human leg separately to shorten the serial chain and reduce computational complexity, and divide the JMT into the mass-induced one and the foot-contact-force (FCF)-induced one to avoid switching the dynamic equation due to different contact states of the feet. An exoskeleton embedded sensing system is designed to obtain the user’s motion data and FCF required by the IDA by mapping motion information from the exoskeleton to the human body. Compared with the popular electromyography (EMG) and wearable sensor based solutions, electrodes, sensors, and complex wiring on the human body are eliminated to improve wearing convenience. A comparison experiment shows that this method produces close output to a motion analysis system with different subjects in different motion.


JAMA ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 197 (11) ◽  
pp. 915-916
Author(s):  
I. J. Schatz
Keyword(s):  

VASA ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koutouzis ◽  
Sfyroeras ◽  
Moulakakis ◽  
Kontaras ◽  
Nikolaou ◽  
...  

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence, etiology and clinical significance of elevated troponin I in patients with acute upper or lower limb ischemia. The high sensitivity and specificity of cardiac troponin for the diagnosis of myocardial cell damage suggested a significant role for troponin in the patients investigated for this condition. The initial enthusiasm for the diagnostic potential of troponin was limited by the discovery that elevated cardiac troponin levels are also observed in conditions other than acute myocardial infarction, even conditions without obvious cardiac involvement. Patients and Methods: 71 consecutive patients participated in this study. 31 (44%) of them were men and mean age was 75.4 ± 10.3 years (range 44–92 years). 60 (85%) patients had acute lower limb ischemia and the remaining (11; 15%) had acute upper limb ischemia. Serial creatine kinase (CK), isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) and troponin I measurements were performed in all patients. Results: 33 (46%) patients had elevated peak troponin I (> 0.2 ng/ml) levels, all from the lower limb ischemia group (33/60 vs. 0/11 from the acute upper limb ischemia group; p = 0.04). Patients with lower limb ischemia had higher peak troponin I values than patients with upper limb ischemia (0.97 ± 2.3 [range 0.01–12.1] ng/ml vs. 0.04 ± 0.04 [0.01–0.14] ng/ml respectively; p = 0.003), higher peak CK values (2504 ± 7409 [range 42–45 940] U/ml vs. 340 ± 775 [range 34–2403] U/ml, p = 0.002, respectively, in the two groups) and peak CK-MB values (59.4 ± 84.5 [range 12–480] U/ml vs. 21.2 ± 9.1 [range 12–39] U/ml, respectively, in the two groups; p = 0.04). Peak cardiac troponin I levels were correlated with peak CK and CK-MB values. Conclusions: Patients with lower limb ischemia often have elevated troponin I without a primary cardiac source; this was not observed in patients presenting with acute upper limb ischemia. It is very important for these critically ill patients to focus on the main problem of acute limb ischemia and to attempt to treat the patient rather than the troponin elevation per se. Cardiac troponin elevation should not prevent physicians from providing immediate treatment for limb ischaemia to these patients, espescially when signs, symptoms and electrocardiographic findings preclude acute cardiac involvement.


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