Portable haptic device for lower limb amputee gait feedback: Assessing static and dynamic perceptibility

Husman, Muhammad Afif; Maqbool, Hafiz Farhan; Awad, Mohammed I.; Dehghani-Sanij, Abbas A.

doi:10.1109/icorr.2017.8009470

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…All combinations of VT units and intensities were checked prior to starting the experiments, in order to ensure that the stimuli were above the user's perceptual threshold while standing. Therefore, any change of the perception observed during walking would be attributable to movement-induced attenuation [23]- [25]. A further familiarization session of about 10 minutes was performed during walking, to allow subjects to select their speed and familiarize with the VT stimuli while moving.…”

Section: Experimental Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar experiments were carried out by Karuei et al [24] who reported that walking significantly reduced detection performance even with high intensity vibrations, and the perception on thigh and feet were the most affected by movement. In their study, Husman et al [25] analyzed the perceptibility of skin stretch stimuli of different intensities applied to the thigh during static and walking conditions, finding that high magnitude stimuli were accurately perceived in both conditions and low intensity stimuli remained almost unnoticed during walking. In general, all these studies agree in reporting a strong movement-induced attenuation of perception when stimuli were applied to lower limbs, however a systematic analysis of the influence of gait phases was never This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perception of Time-Discrete Haptic Feedback on the Waist is Invariant With Gait Events

Cesini

Martini

Filosa

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng.

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The effectiveness of haptic feedback devices highly depends on the perception of tactile stimuli, which differs across body parts and can be affected by movement. In this study, a novel wearable sensory feedback apparatus made of a pair of pressure-sensitive insoles and a belt equipped with vibrotactile units is presented; the device provides time-discrete vibrations around the waist, synchronized with biomechanically-relevant gait events during walking. Experiments with fifteen healthy volunteers were carried out to investigate users' tactile perception on the waist. Stimuli of different intensities were provided at twelve locations, each time synchronously with one predefined gait event (i.e. heel strike, flat foot or toe off), following a pseudo-random stimulation sequence. Reaction time, detection rate and localization accuracy were analyzed as functions of the stimulation level and site and the effect of gait events on perception was investigated. Results revealed that above-threshold stimuli (i.e. vibrations characterized by acceleration amplitudes of 1.92g and 2.13g and frequencies of 100 Hz and 150 Hz, respectively) can be effectively perceived in all the sites and successfully localized when the intertactor spacing is set to 10 cm. Moreover, it was found that perception of time-discrete vibrations was not affected by phase-related gating mechanisms, suggesting that the waist could be considered as a preferred body region for delivering haptic feedback during walking.

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Section: Experimental Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Time-Discrete Haptic Feedback on the Waist is Invariant With Gait Events

Cesini

Martini

Filosa

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Different feedback modalities including visual [21][22][23][24] and auditory [25][26][27][28] feedback have been the most commonly implemented approaches. Haptic feedback, often in the form of vibrotactile feedback [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36], was recently presented resulting in lighter, more portable devices compared to cumbersome and heavy computer monitors and speakers. In fact, Khajuria et al [32] developed a prototype to provide vibratory feedback in response to fluctuations of the center of pressure outside a predetermined zone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A non-invasive wearable sensory leg neuroprosthesis: mechanical, electrical and functional validation

et al. 2022

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Objective. Lower limb amputees suffer from a variety of functional deficits related to the absence of sensory communication between the central nervous system and the lost extremity. Indeed, they experience high risk of falls, asymmetric walking and balance, and low prosthesis embodiment, that significantly decrease their quality of life. Presently, there are no commercially available devices able to provide sensory feedback to leg amputees. Recently, some invasive solutions (i.e. requiring a surgery) have been proposed by different research groups, however a non-invasive effective alternative exploitable in everyday life is still missing. Approach. To address this need we developed and tested a lightweight, non-invasive, wearable technology (NeuroLegs) providing sensory (i.e. knee angle joint and tactile) feedback to the users through electro-cutaneous stimulation. A user-friendly GUI and mobile App have been developed to easily calibrate and control the system. Standard mechanical and electrical tests were performed to assess the safety and reliability of the technology. Main results. No mechanical failures, stable communication among system parts and a long-lasting battery (>23h) were demonstrated. The NeuroLegs system was then verified in terms of accuracy in measuring relevant gait parameters in healthy participants. A high temporal reliability was found when detecting stride features (important for the real-time configuration) with a correct match to the walking cadence, in all assessed walking conditions. The effectiveness of the NeuroLegs system at improving walking of three transfemoral amputees was then verified in movement laboratory tests. Increased temporal gait symmetry and augmented confidence were found. Stepping outside from the lab, Neurolegs was successfully exploited by a transfemoral amputee in CYBATHLON Global Edition 2020 in several challenging situations related to daily-living activities. Significance. Our results demonstrate that the NeuroLegs system provides the user with useful sensory information that can be successfully exploited in different walking conditions of daily life.

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“…Most of the devices found in literature implement the so-called corrective feedback strategies, consisting of "simplified" activation patterns providing stimuli in the direction of error, denoting deviations of specific variables or performance parameters with respect to a given physiological range or a target [9,13,17,21]. When the strategy delivers direct feedback on the evolution of one or more measured variables [1,2,9,18,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28], the so-called concurrent feedback, the complexity of the feedback pattern depends on the number of events and parameters encoded by the device. For example, the timing of the foot heel strike requires a single event-based activation, while providing information on the location of the center of pressure (CoP) and the intensity of the ground reaction force under the foot calls for a more complex activation pattern.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking

et al. 2020

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Nowadays, lower-limb prostheses are reaching real-world usability especially on ground-level walking. However, some key tasks such as stair walking are still quite demanding. Providing haptic feedback about the foot placement on the steps might reduce the cognitive load of the task, compensating for increased dependency on vision and lessen the risk of falling. Experiments on intact subjects can be useful to define the feedback strategies prior to clinical trials, but effective methods to assess the efficacy of the strategies are few and usually rely on the emulation of the disability condition. The present study reports on the design and testing of a wearable haptic feedback system in a protocol involving intact subjects to assess candidate strategies to be adopted in clinical trials. The system integrated a sensorized insole wirelessly connected to a textile waist belt equipped with three vibrating motors. Three stimulation strategies for mapping the insole pressure data to vibrotactile feedback were implemented and compared in terms of intuitiveness and comfort perceived during level and stair walking. The strategies were ranked using a relative rating approach, which highlighted the differences between them and suggested guidelines for their improvement. The feedback evaluation procedure proposed could facilitate the selection and improvement of haptic feedback strategies prior to clinical testing.

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Portable haptic device for lower limb amputee gait feedback: Assessing static and dynamic perceptibility

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Perception of Time-Discrete Haptic Feedback on the Waist is Invariant With Gait Events

Perception of Time-Discrete Haptic Feedback on the Waist is Invariant With Gait Events

A non-invasive wearable sensory leg neuroprosthesis: mechanical, electrical and functional validation

Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking

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