Bilateral, Misalignment-Compensating, Full-DOF Hip Exoskeleton: Design and Kinematic Validation

Junius, Karen; Degelaen, Marc; Lefeber, Nina; Swinnen, Eva; Vanderborght, Bram; Lefeber, Dirk

doi:10.1155/2017/5813154

Cited by 33 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Also, Saccares et al [54] included five passive Degrees of Freedom (DoF) in a knee exoskeleton to automatically adapt itself to different users. The solution proposed by Junius et al [55] improved joint alignment by using 3 passive DoF with sliders and hinges.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliant lower limb exoskeletons: a comprehensive review on mechanical design principles

Sanchez-Villamañan

González-Vargas

Torricelli

et al. 2019

J NeuroEngineering Rehabil

156

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Exoskeleton technology has made significant advances during the last decade, resulting in a considerable variety of solutions for gait assistance and rehabilitation. The mechanical design of these devices is a crucial aspect that affects the efficiency and effectiveness of their interaction with the user. Recent developments have pointed towards compliant mechanisms and structures, due to their promising potential in terms of adaptability, safety, efficiency, and comfort. However, there still remain challenges to be solved before compliant lower limb exoskeletons can be deployed in real scenarios. In this review, we analysed 52 lower limb wearable exoskeletons, focusing on three main aspects of compliance: actuation, structure, and interface attachment components. We highlighted the drawbacks and advantages of the different solutions, and suggested a number of promising research lines. We also created and made available a set of data sheets that contain the technical characteristics of the reviewed devices, with the aim of providing researchers and end-users with an updated overview on the existing solutions. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12984-019-0517-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliant lower limb exoskeletons: a comprehensive review on mechanical design principles

Sanchez-Villamañan

González-Vargas

Torricelli

et al. 2019

J NeuroEngineering Rehabil

156

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A kinematically compatible hip exoskeleton was developed to reduce the wearer's metabolic consumption during the sit-to-stand motion by Junius et al [53,54]. The exoskeleton structure includes a misalignment compensation mechanism, a parallel spring mechanism, two hip joints, and torso and thigh braces.…”

Section: Category Of Robotic Hip Exoskeletonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

State-of-the-art research in robotic hip exoskeletons: A general review

Chen

Qin

et al. 2020

Journal of Orthopaedic Translation

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Ageing population is now a global challenge, where physical deterioration is the common feature in elderly people. In addition, the diseases, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, and injury, could cause a partial or total loss of the ability of human locomotion. Thus, assistance is necessary for them to perform safe activities of daily living. Robotic hip exoskeletons are able to support ambulatory functions in elderly people and provide rehabilitation for the patients with gait impairments. They can also augment human performance during normal walking, loaded walking, and manual handling of heavy-duty tasks by providing assistive force/torque. In this article, a systematic review of robotic hip exoskeletons is presented, where biomechanics of the human hip joint, pathological gait pattern, and common approaches to the design of robotic hip exoskeletons are described. Finally, limitations of the available robotic hip exoskeletons and their possible future directions are discussed, which could serve a useful reference for the engineers and researchers to develop robotic hip exoskeletons with practical and plausible applications in geriatric orthopaedics.The translational potential of this articleThe past decade has witnessed a remarkable progress in research and development of robotic hip exoskeletons. Our aim is to summarize recent developments of robotic hip exoskeletons for the engineers, clinician scientists and rehabilitation personnel to develop efficient robotic hip exoskeletons for practical and plausible applications.

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“…Alignment of the rotation axis of a human and an exoskeleton is challenging (Junius et al, 2017a). For the flexion and extension FIGURE 3 | Spinal support concept (A).…”

Section: Hip Structure Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…challenging (Junius et al, 2017a). Especially, when additional compensatory degrees of freedom are introduced.…”

Section: Hip Structure Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Misaligned joints can produce unwanted, parasitic forces and torques of up to 230 N and 1.5 Nm, respectively (Schiele, 2009 ), which decrease the comfort of wearing a device. Because good alignment of an external exoskeleton structure is challenging, devices often compensate for misalignment (Junius et al, 2017a , b ), i.e., instead of trying to align the exoskeleton structure with the human, a certain amount of misalignment is accepted and compensated with the exoskeleton by introducing additional degrees of freedom (see Figures 2C,D ). Furthermore proper misalignment compensation prevents relative movement between the device and the user and thereby indirectly also increases comfort (Schiele and van der Helm, 2006 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Passive Back Support Exoskeleton Improves Range of Motion Using Flexible Beams

et al. 2018

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In the EU, lower back pain affects more than 40% of the working population. Mechanical loading of the lower back has been shown to be an important risk factor. Peak mechanical load can be reduced by ergonomic interventions, the use of cranes and, more recently, by the use of exoskeletons. Despite recent advances in the development of exoskeletons for industrial applications, they are not widely adopted by industry yet. Some of the challenges, which have to be overcome are a reduced range of motion, misalignment between the human anatomy and kinematics of the exoskeleton as well as discomfort. A body of research exists on how an exoskeleton can be designed to compensate for misalignment and thereby improve comfort. However, how to design an exoskeleton that achieves a similar range of motion as a human lumbar spine of up to 60 • in the sagittal plane, has not been extensively investigated. We addressed this need by developing and testing a novel passive back support exoskeleton, including a mechanism comprised of flexible beams, which run in parallel to the spine, providing a large range of motion and lowering the peak torque requirements around the lumbo-sacral (L5/S1) joint. Furthermore, we ran a pilot study to test the biomechanical (N = 2) and functional (N = 3) impact on subjects while wearing the exoskeleton. The biomechanical testing was once performed with flexible beams as a back interface and once with a rigid structure. An increase of more than 25% range of motion of the trunk in the sagittal plane was observed by using the flexible beams. The pilot functional tests, which are compared to results from a previous study with the Laevo device, suggest, that the novel exoskeleton is perceived as less hindering in almost all tested tasks.

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Bilateral, Misalignment-Compensating, Full-DOF Hip Exoskeleton: Design and Kinematic Validation

Cited by 33 publications

References 58 publications

Compliant lower limb exoskeletons: a comprehensive review on mechanical design principles

Compliant lower limb exoskeletons: a comprehensive review on mechanical design principles

State-of-the-art research in robotic hip exoskeletons: A general review

Passive Back Support Exoskeleton Improves Range of Motion Using Flexible Beams

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