Assistive Hip Exoskeleton Study for Stroke

Study Summary

The increased metabolic and biomechanical demands of ambulation limit community mobility in persons with lower limb disability due to neurological damage. There is a critical need for improving the locomotion capabilities of individuals with stroke to increase their community mobility, independence, and health. Robotic exoskeletons have the potential to assist these individuals by increasing community mobility to improve quality of life. While these devices have incredible potential, current technology does not support dynamic movements common with locomotion such as transitioning between different gaits and supporting a wide variety of walking speeds. One significant challenge in achieving community ambulation with exoskeletons is providing an adaptive control system to accomplish a wide variety of locomotor tasks. Many exoskeletons today are developed without a detailed understanding of the effect of the device on the human musculoskeletal system. This research is interested in studying the question of how the control system affects stroke biomechanics including kinematic, kinetics and muscle activation patterns. By optimizing exoskeleton controllers based on human biomechanics and adapting control based on task, the biggest benefit to patient populations will be achieved to help advance the state-of-the-art with assistive hip exoskeletons.

Primary Outcome

Using five different hip exoskeleton assistance strategies, the participant's overground self-selected walking speed was recorded. Assistance types are 1) Unilateral Paretic Assistance, 2) Unilateral Non-Paretic Assistance, 3) Bilateral Equal Assistance, 4) Bilateral Additional Paretic Assistance, and 5) Bilateral Additional Non-Paretic Assistance. The first information (unilateral or bilateral) refers to the leg(s) that the exoskeleton is providing assistance with. For example, unilateral assis

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• DEVICE Powered hip exoskeleton

Study Locations (1)