Evaluation of Trunk-Supporting Exoskeleton

Kazerooni, H.; Tung, Wayne Yi-Wei; Pillai, Minerva V.

doi:10.1177/1071181319631261

Cited by 50 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Varieties of passive exoskeletons have been developed, for instance, PLAD [4][5][6], WMRD [7], BNDR [8], VT/Lower [9], SPEXOR [10], Laevo [11], and BackX [12]. PLAD uses elastic bands to reduce the muscle load of the vertical spine when lifting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SIAT-WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks

Wang

et al. 2020

Complexity

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Lumbar Exoskeleton, as an important instance of wearable exoskeleton, has broad application prospects in logistics, construction, and other industries. Specifically, in the working scenarios that require long-term and repeated bending and rising movements, active lumbar exoskeleton (ALE) can provide effective protection and flexible assistance to wear’s waist muscles and bones, which will significantly reduce the risk of lumbar muscle strain. How to improve the human-machine coupling and enhance the assistance performance are the main challenges for ALE’s development. Based on the biomechanical analysis of the movement of lifting heavy objects from bottom up, this paper proposes a lightweight but powerful ALE, named as SIAT-WEXv2, which can output maximum assistive force of 28 N. Additionally, we use robust fuzzy adaptive algorithm to improve SIAT-WEXv2’s antidisturbance ability, so that it can provide continuous and supple assistance for wearer. Electromyography (EMG) signals of the lumbar erector spinae (LES) from ten subjects in two experimental cases (with or without SIAT-WEXv2) were collected to evaluate the effectiveness of our new ALE. The experimental results indicate that the reduction of iEMG signal at LES decreased monotonically from 60% ± 5.5% to 40.5% ± 6.5% as the weight of lifting load increased from 0 to 25 kg.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SIAT-WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks

Wang

et al. 2020

Complexity

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“…It showed a significant improvement in the reduction of muscle force by 60% during static stoop activity at the L5/S1 location. The study indicated that workers using exoskeletons for longer periods may experience a loss of functionality, as forward bending posture is an extremely constrained maneuver (Kazerooni et al, 2019;SuitX, 2019).…”

Section: Spring-actuated Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Back-Support Exoskeletons and Soft Robotic Suits

Ali

Fontanari

Schmoelz

et al. 2021

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Lower back pain and musculoskeletal injuries are serious concerns for workers subjected to physical workload and manual material handling tasks. Spine assistive exoskeletons are being developed to support the spine and distribute the spine load. This article presents a detailed up-to-date review on the back support exoskeletons by discussing their type (Active/Passive), structure (Rigid/Soft), power transmission methods, weight, maximum assistive force, battery technologies, tasks (lifting, bending, stooping work), kinematic compatibility and other important features. This article also assesses the back support exoskeletons in terms of their ability to reduce the physical load on the spine. By reviewing functional and structural characteristics, the goal is to increase communication and realization among ergonomics practitioners, developers, customers, and factory workers. The search resulted in reviewing 34 exoskeletons of which 16 were passive and 18 were active. In conclusion, back support exoskeletons have immense potential to significantly reduce the factors regarding work-related musculoskeletal injuries. However, various technical challenges and a lack of established safety standards limit the wide adaptation of exoskeletons in industry.

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“…Considering that almost 33% of all cases of occupational injuries and illness requiring days away from work are attributed to WMSDs wherein back disorder accounts for 43% of these cases (Kim et al, 2019, Umer et al, 2017, it is imperative to explore the suitability of emerging technologies such as BSEs for construction work. BackX exoskeleton is designed for use in different maneuvers such as squatting, cycling, walking, and climbing ladders (Kazerooni et al, 2019), which are in line with the range of maneuvers assumed by the construction workers. But there are scarce studies assessing the implications of BSEs (like BackX) for construction-related tasks (e.g., rebar, flooring, and finishing).…”

Section: Research Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of a passive wearable robot for reducing low back disorders during rebar work

Gonsalves¹,

Ogunseiju²,

Akanmu³

et al. 2021

ITcon

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Low back disorder continues to be prevalent amongst construction workers, especially the rebar workers who are often engaged in repetitive stooping postures. Wearable robots, exoskeletons, are recent ergonomic interventions currently explored in the construction industry that have potentials of reducing the risks of low back pain by augmenting users’ body parts and reducing demands on the back. This paper presents the assessment of a commercially available passive wearable robot, BackX, designed for reducing low back disorder amongst rebar workers. The study evaluated the exoskeleton in terms of task performance and physiological conditions. Outcome measures such as completion time were employed to evaluate the effect of the exoskeleton on task performance, while activations of Erector Spinae and Latissimus Dorsi muscles, and perceived discomfort across body parts were employed to assess the physiological effects of the exoskeleton. The results indicated mixed effects of the exoskeleton on muscle activations. Although the results revealed that the exoskeleton can reduce muscle activations across the Latissimus Dorsi, mixed effects were observed for the Erector Spinae especially during the forward bending tasks. The exoskeleton reduced completion time by 50% during the rebar tasks. There was also a 100% reduction in perceived discomfort on the back, but discomfort was tripled at the chest region when the exoskeleton was worn. This study reveals the potentials of the exoskeleton for reducing low back disorder and improving productivity amongst the rebar workers. However, the unintended consequences such as increased discomfort at the chest region and activations of the muscles highlight the need for improving existing exoskeleton designs for construction work.

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Evaluation of Trunk-Supporting Exoskeleton

Cited by 50 publications

References 5 publications

SIAT-WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks

SIAT-WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks

Systematic Review of Back-Support Exoskeletons and Soft Robotic Suits

Assessment of a passive wearable robot for reducing low back disorders during rebar work

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