A Novel Mechatronic Body Weight Support System

Frey, Martin; Colombo, G.; Vaglio, M.; Bucher, Roberto; Jörg, Matthias; Riener, Robert

doi:10.1109/tnsre.2006.881556

Cited by 182 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…As outlined in the "Introduction" section, the principle limitation with existing overground gait training technologies is that they do not offer dynamic BWS but instead provide only static BWS. As shown by Frey et al, when patients walk with static BWS, the unloading forces are very inconsistent [11]. For example, at a walking speed of 2 km/h (1.24 mph) and with a desired unloading force of 30 kg (66 lb), the maximum error in unloading was 20.85 kg (46 lb) or nearly 70 percent of the desired force level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Perhaps one of the most restrictive features of existing overground systems such as the Lite-Gait and the Solo-Step (Solo-Step; Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is that they only provide static BWS rather than dynamic BWS (see Frey et al for a description of the various types of unloading systems [11]). The differences between these two types of BWS are important, yet often poorly understood in the clinical community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this setting, as the patient moves up and down, they experience a constant amount of vertical support, which can be set as a percentage of the patient's body weight. Dynamic BWS has been shown to produce more natural ground-reaction forces and gait characteristics [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and allows patients to move freely through a wide range of movement profiles (e.g., those needed during gait, sit-to-stand, and getting off the floor). Such activities are not possible with static BWS systems, yet are critical to a patient's ability to practice activities of daily living (ADLs).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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ZeroG: Overground gait and balance training system

Hidler¹,

Brennan²,

Black³

et al. 2011

JRRD

108

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Abstract-A new overground body-weight support system called ZeroG has been developed that allows patients with severe gait impairments to practice gait and balance activities in a safe, controlled manner. The unloading system is capable of providing up to 300 lb of static support and 150 lb of dynamic (or constant force) support using a custom-series elastic actuator. The unloading system is mounted to a driven trolley, which rides along an overhead rail. We evaluated the performance of ZeroG's unloading system, as well as the trolley tracking system, using benchtop and human-subject testing. Average root-mean-square and peak errors in unloading were 2.2 and 7.2 percent, respectively, over the range of forces tested while trolley tracking errors were less than 3 degrees, indicating the system was able to maintain its position above the subject. We believe training with ZeroG will allow patients to practice activities that are critical to achieving functional independence at home and in the community.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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ZeroG: Overground gait and balance training system

Hidler¹,

Brennan²,

Black³

et al. 2011

JRRD

108

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“…A mechatronic body weight support (BWS) system [18,34] developed to provide precise body weight unloading for patients with neurological or other impairments during treadmill training. This commercial gait therapy device provides and active BWS and a robotic exoskeleton support hip and knee movements in the sagittal plane.…”

Section: Treadmill-basedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable-stiffness joints with embedded force sensor for high-performance wearable gait exoskeletons

Soto¹

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“…Compared to counterweights, ideal-spring mechanisms do not double the vertical movement inertia. Over complex mechatronic systems [59], which would include several actuators, force-sensors and controllers, ideal-spring mechanisms have the advantage of being significantly less complex and costly.…”

Section: Ideal Spring Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of novel devices for upper-extremity rehabilitation

Stienen¹

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S U M M A R YThe goal of this dissertation was to improve rehabilitation robots by developing new patient-friendly devices which can assist therapists in the rehabilitation of neurological movement disorders of the upper extremities, such as hemiparetic stroke. In all, three novel rehabilitation devices were developed. Given the changing demographics of developed nations, over the next two decades fewer therapists will be available to treat an increasing number of stroke patients. With patient-friendly robots assisting therapists, proven therapeutic exercises can be automated and new and better targeted interventions developed and tested. In addition to facilitating therapy sessions, robots can provide objective measurement of impairment. Overall, robots can make therapy more productive for patients and less labor-intensive for therapists, and provide physicians, therapists and the scientific community with more objective data.To handle the wide range of impairments found in hemiparetic stroke patients, multiple devices are needed. Mildly impaired patients may have a near-normal range of motion, but have problems with fine motor control or moving heavier objects. Severely affected patients may not be able to even lift the weight of their own arm. Despite these differences, certain general strategies appear to work best. First and foremost, rehabilitation therapy works best when the patient is actively and intensively involved. Exercises should use repetitive movements that closely resemble those used in daily living for best results in reshaping the recovering brain.Studying motor learning in healthy subjects supported the need for active patient involvement. Given the artificial motor relearning task of moving in a visuomotor-rotated field, the healthy subject fully adapted when he could freely make, and correct, errors in their movement execution. On the other hand, active delivery of a passive hand to the targets resulted in much less and much slower adaptation. In between lay the adaptation achieved with hard and soft guidance of the hand over virtual tracks. The conclusion is that both minimization of execution errors and control effort drive kinematical adaptation in a novel visuomotor task, but the latter occurs at a much slower rate.Should the patient not be assisted at all? Perhaps the type of assistance is important. For instance, weight support of the arm facilitates movement, but movement initialization and control are left unchanged. Most rehabilitation devices for upper extremities include some form of weight support. An analysis of these devices concluded that weight support is most easily realized through a cablesuspension system that supports the arm via slings. However, the best possible solution for weight support depends on the primary design of the device. Careful upfront consideration of various design options will lead to better choices.The first rehabilitation device was designed using this knowledge. The Freebal is a dedicated weight-support system that is less complex and has less movem...

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A Novel Mechatronic Body Weight Support System

Cited by 182 publications

References 9 publications

ZeroG: Overground gait and balance training system

ZeroG: Overground gait and balance training system

Variable-stiffness joints with embedded force sensor for high-performance wearable gait exoskeletons

Development of novel devices for upper-extremity rehabilitation

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