Application of a User-Centered Design Approach to the Development of XoSoft – A Lower Body Soft Exoskeleton

Power, Valerie; Eyto, Adam de; Hartigan, Bernard; Ortiz, Jesús; O’Sullivan, Leonard

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-01887-0_9

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…When considering using a robot-assisted platform in a minimally-supervised way (clinical and home settings), specific hardware and software changes should be considered to allow a positive user experience and compliance with the therapy program/targets, as well as to assure safe interaction. In this sense, integrating usability evaluation during the development of rehabilitation technologies was shown to contribute to device design improvements, user satisfaction and device usability (Shah and Robinson, 2007;Power et al, 2018;Meyer et al, 2019). Unfortunately, the usability of robotic devices for upper-limb rehabilitation is only rarely evaluated and documented in the target user population before clinical tests (Pei et al, 2017;Catalan et al, 2018;Guneysu Ozgur et al, 2018;Nam et al, 2019;Tsai et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a Platform for Robot-Assisted Minimally-Supervised Therapy of Hand Function: Design and Pilot Usability Evaluation

Ranzani

Eicher

Viggiano

et al. 2021

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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BackgroundRobot-assisted therapy can increase therapy dose after stroke, which is often considered insufficient in clinical practice and after discharge, especially with respect to hand function. Thus far, there has been a focus on rather complex systems that require therapist supervision. To better exploit the potential of robot-assisted therapy, we propose a platform designed for minimal therapist supervision, and present the preliminary evaluation of its immediate usability, one of the main and frequently neglected challenges for real-world application. Such an approach could help increase therapy dose by allowing the training of multiple patients in parallel by a single therapist, as well as independent training in the clinic or at home.MethodsWe implemented design changes on a hand rehabilitation robot, considering aspects relevant to enabling minimally-supervised therapy, such as new physical/graphical user interfaces and two functional therapy exercises to train hand motor coordination, somatosensation and memory. Ten participants with chronic stroke assessed the usability of the platform and reported the perceived workload during a single therapy session with minimal supervision. The ability to independently use the platform was evaluated with a checklist.ResultsParticipants were able to independently perform the therapy session after a short familiarization period, requiring assistance in only 13.46 (7.69–19.23)% of the tasks. They assigned good-to-excellent scores on the System Usability Scale to the user-interface and the exercises [85.00 (75.63–86.88) and 73.75 (63.13–83.75) out of 100, respectively]. Nine participants stated that they would use the platform frequently. Perceived workloads lay within desired workload bands. Object grasping with simultaneous control of forearm pronosupination and stiffness discrimination were identified as the most difficult tasks.DiscussionOur findings demonstrate that a robot-assisted therapy device can be rendered safely and intuitively usable upon first exposure with minimal supervision through compliance with usability and perceived workload requirements. The preliminary usability evaluation identified usability challenges that should be solved to allow real-world minimally-supervised use. Such a platform could complement conventional therapy, allowing to provide increased dose with the available resources, and establish a continuum of care that progressively increases therapy lead of the patient from the clinic to the home.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a Platform for Robot-Assisted Minimally-Supervised Therapy of Hand Function: Design and Pilot Usability Evaluation

Ranzani

Eicher

Viggiano

et al. 2021

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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“…However, the acknowledgment of the problem in academic literature has not led to implementation in current engineering practices: while most UCD approaches acknowledge the fact that the human is in control of the device, they do not include the users in the thinking process [52,53]. There is only some recent evidence of active participation of the users in the design process of WREs [7,[54][55][56]. In these cases, UCD was applied by employing focus groups, meetings with experts, occupational therapists, doctors, engineers and individuals with DMD, in order to improve the WRE design process [6,7].…”

Section: Implications For the Development Of Wresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wearable robotic exoskeletons: A socio-philosophical perspective on Duchenne muscular dystrophy research

Kapeller

Nagenborg

Nizamis

2020

Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics

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Recently, several research projects in the Netherlands have focused on the development of wearable robotic exoskeletons (WREs) for individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Such research on WREs is often treated solely within the disciplines of biomedical and mechanical engineering, overlooking insights from disability studies and philosophy of technology. We argue that mainly two such insights should receive attention: the problematization of the ableism connected to the individual model of disability and the stigmatization by assistive technology. While disability studies have largely rejected the individual model of disability, the engineering sciences seem to still locate disability in an individual’s body, not questioning their own problematization of disability. Additionally, philosophy of technology has argued that technologies are not neutral instruments but shape users’ actions and perceptions. The design of WREs may convey a message about the understanding of disability, which can be comprehended as a challenge and an opportunity: stigmatization needs to be avoided and positive views on disability can be evoked. This article aims to highlight the benefits of considering these socio-philosophical perspectives by examining the case of WREs for people with DMD and proposing design principles for WREs. These principles may enhance acceptability of WREs, not only by individuals with DMD but also by other users, and help engineers to better place their work in the social context.

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“…In the XoSoft project, prototypes for a modular, soft, exoskeleton have been developed following a user-centered approach [8].The goal is to provide assistance for people with impaired walking due to diagnoses such as iSCI. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the ankle actuation of XoSoft on the ankle joint and dynamics of walking during the push-off in people with iSCI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alteration of Push-Off Mechanics During Walking with Different Prototype Designs of a Soft Exoskeleton in People with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury—A Case Series

Graf

Bauer

Pauli

et al. 2021

Biosystems &Amp; Biorobotics

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The push-off is a key factor determining the walking capability. People with impaired function due to incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) have altered biomechanics and are, therefore, at a disadvantage during activities of daily living such as walking. XoSoft is a prototype soft exoskeleton designed to assist during walking. Different generations of XoSoft followed different strategies of tailoring the garment (custom-made vs. one-size fits all). This may result in altered effects on the mechanics of walking. In this study, we assessed two generations of XoSoft with three people with iSCI and focused on the push-off mechanics (ankle kinematics & kinetics) during level walking. The results showed that XoSoft was able to support the gait, but systematic differences between prototype generations were not found. Consequently, a more general approach for the garment design may be feasible.

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Application of a User-Centered Design Approach to the Development of XoSoft – A Lower Body Soft Exoskeleton

Cited by 14 publications

References 2 publications

Towards a Platform for Robot-Assisted Minimally-Supervised Therapy of Hand Function: Design and Pilot Usability Evaluation

Towards a Platform for Robot-Assisted Minimally-Supervised Therapy of Hand Function: Design and Pilot Usability Evaluation

Wearable robotic exoskeletons: A socio-philosophical perspective on Duchenne muscular dystrophy research

Alteration of Push-Off Mechanics During Walking with Different Prototype Designs of a Soft Exoskeleton in People with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury—A Case Series

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