Preliminary Biomechanical Evaluation of a Novel Exoskeleton Robotic System to Assist Stair Climbing

Böhme, Max; Köhler, Hans-Peter; Thiel, Robert; Jäkel, Jens; Zentner, Johannes; Witt, Maren

doi:10.3390/app12178835

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In ascending stairs, assisting the lower limb extremity joints to help reduce joint pressure and lower limb muscle work can reduce human metabolic consumption and muscle fatigue. Max Böhme et al designed a novel exoskeleton robotic system [43] to assist stair climbing using knee joint angles, moments and reaction force characteristics, and measured surface EMG signals, showing an average reduction of 19.3% in knee extensor muscles with the assistance of this exoskeleton system. However,the exoskeleton system used a rigid structure and the weight of the exoskeleton for each leg reached 6.1 kg, which caused discomfort to the wearer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Portable Soft Exosuit to Assist Stair Climbing with Hip Flexion

Chen

et al. 2023

Electronics

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Soft exosuits are an emerging class of robots that have been shown to significantly reduce the metabolic cost of daily human movement. However, most soft exosuits are currently being studied for walking and running, and relatively minor research has been carried out on exosuits for stair climbing. Numerous exoskeletons used for stair climbing have a more rigid structure and are heavier, which may result in a greater force required by the wearer to overcome the weight from the exoskeleton when ascending stairs, which can result in metabolic costs. As a result, a reduction in rigid structures can reduce the weight of the exoskeleton and further reduce metabolic costs during stair climbing. In this paper, a waist-wearable soft exosuit was designed that assists hip flexion to aid stair climbing in older adults, in order to demonstrate the importance of choosing to assist hip flexion during stair climbing. An admittance delayed feedback control method was also proposed to use the angular information measured by the IMUs to enable the exosuit to adapt to different staircases. Metabolic experiments have shown that people who use soft exosuits have an average decrease of 6.9% in metabolism when they climb stairs than those who do not. The muscle fatigue experiments demonstrated a reduction in muscle fatigue of approximately 9.35%, 38.75% and 9.65% for the rectus femoris, lateral femoris and gastrocnemius muscles, respectively, when compared to cases without the soft exosuit. The results show that assisted hip flexion during stair climbing is a reasonable approach to effectively reduce metabolic consumption and muscle fatigue.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Portable Soft Exosuit to Assist Stair Climbing with Hip Flexion

Chen

et al. 2023

Electronics

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“…Personalization improves usability and comfort of medical devices, including exoskeletons, and allows to solve a number of practical problems, e.g., observed differences in interaction between users and the system, user preferences, expected level and method of support. This applies to various activities (activities of daily living), from simple, related to self-service, to complex, e.g., climbing stairs while holding onto the handrail [7]. For the purposes of upper limb exoskeletons, it is already possible to automate or semiautomatically (based on AI) design 3D-printed chainmail with individually programmable properties-especially with variable stiffness/flexibility depending on the direction, with an adjustable one-or two-way bending module [8].…”

Section: Possibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personalization of the 3D-Printed Upper Limb Exoskeleton Design—Mechanical and IT Aspects

et al. 2023

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The human hand is the most precise and versatile tool that nature has given man, and any deficits in this area affect the functional capabilities and quality of human life. Scientists, engineers and clinicians are constantly looking for solutions in the field of diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and care of patients with hand function deficits. One such solution is a hand exoskeleton. In the process of designing and testing the hand exoskeleton, emphasis should be placed on the full usability and comfort of the system; hence, the issues of personalization, matching and testing are crucial for the development of the discussed group of solutions. The aim of this paper is to present the possibilities of personalizing 3D-printed medical devicesbased on our own experience in functional user assessment andthe material selection, design, optimization using artificial intelligence and production and testing of several generations of different upper limb exoskeletons, incorporatingthe considerations of the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), ISO 13485 and ISO 10993 standards.The novelty and possible contribution of the proposed approach consist of the possibilities and limitations of the personalization of the upper limb exoskeleton discussed in the article as well as the directions of further development of significant scientific, technical and clinical importance.

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“…Preliminary evaluations are performed for this topic [27], as well as analyses of fall possibilities [28][29][30]. The situation of stair descent by means of assistance with an exoskeleton or improvement of stair climbing abilities by means of an exoskeleton actuated by myoelectric muscle signals is also addressed in the literature [31][32][33][34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Exoskeleton Prototype for Lower Limb Rehabilitation

Geonea,

Copilusi,

Dumitru

et al. 2023

Machines

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This paper presents a new solution for an exoskeleton robotic system that is used for locomotor assistance in people with locomotor disabilities. As novel features of the present research, a novel structural solution of a plane-parallel kinematic chain, intended to be used as the leg of an exoskeleton robot, is proposed. A virtual prototype is made, on the basis of which kinematic and dynamic studies are carried out using ADAMS software for the dynamic analysis of multibody systems. The dynamic simulation of the exoskeleton is performed in two simulation situations: walking on a horizontal plane, as well as the simulation of motion assistance when climbing stairs. Following this analysis, it is noted that the robotic system achieves angular variations in the hip and knee joints similar to that of a human subject. As a result, the constructive solution is feasible, and the next stage of the study is to realize an experimental prototype by the rapid prototyping technique. The kinematic elements of the exoskeleton are designed to provide structural strength, to be easily manufactured by 3D printing and to be easy to assemble. For this purpose, the structural optimization is performed with the finite element method to eliminate stress concentrators. Finally, an experimental prototype of the exoskeleton robot is manufactured and assembled, whose motion is analyzed using ultrafast-camera-based video analysis.

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Preliminary Biomechanical Evaluation of a Novel Exoskeleton Robotic System to Assist Stair Climbing

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

A Portable Soft Exosuit to Assist Stair Climbing with Hip Flexion

A Portable Soft Exosuit to Assist Stair Climbing with Hip Flexion

Personalization of the 3D-Printed Upper Limb Exoskeleton Design—Mechanical and IT Aspects

A New Exoskeleton Prototype for Lower Limb Rehabilitation

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