Gait Rehab Adaptive Machine: Design of GRAM, a Walking Linkage Powered Wheelchair for Lower Body Therapy and Assistance

Abstract

Nearly half of individuals with stroke experience some form of long-term disability and stroke is one of the main causes of wheelchair use in the United States [1]. Early rehabilitation in the acute phase of stroke has been shown critical to promoting motor plasticity and patient outcomes. However, research shows that only 32% of the time during inpatient rehabilitation is spent in active therapy, while the rest of the time is spent on other activities around the ward [2]. For walking impairment, it is especially important for patients to experience similar force loading and practice the patterning of gait in order to recover [3]. However, in a typical therapy session focused on gait rehabilitation patients only will take about 300 steps on average. This is far below what has been thought needed for humans to learn how to walk [4].