SPEXOR: Towards a Passive Spinal Exoskeleton

Rijcke, Laura De; Näf, Matthias B.; Rodriguez–Guerrero, Carlos; Gramlich, Bernhard; Houdijk, Han; Dieën, Jaap H. van; Mombaur, Katja; Russold, Michael Friedrich; Šarabon, Nejc; Babič, Jan; Lefeber, Dirk

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46532-6_53

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…There are a few researchers who have proposed and designed various spinal exoskeletons that can perform mechanical adjustments at multiple spine levels and in multiple movement directions [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. These spinal exoskeletons, however, have all been designed with the aim of providing back support to reduce the incidence of lower back pain, which causes significant morbidity of workers worldwide.…”

Section: Active Spine Bracesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review of Current Spinal Robotic Orthoses

Mak

Accoto

2021

Healthcare

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Osteoporotic spine fractures (OSF) are common sequelae of osteoporosis. OSF are directly correlated with increasing age and incidence of osteoporosis. OSF are treated conservatively or surgically. Associated acute pain, chronic disabilities, and progressive deformities are well documented. Conservative measures include a combination of initial bed rest, analgesia, early physiotherapy, and a spinal brace (orthosis), with the aim for early rehabilitation to prevent complications of immobile state. Spinal bracing is commonly used for symptomatic management of OSF. While traditional spinal braces aim to maintain the neutral spinal alignment and reduce the axial loading on the fractured vertebrae, they are well known for complications including discomfort with reduced compliance, atrophy of paraspinal muscles, and restriction of chest expansion leading to chest infections. Exoskeletons have been developed to passively assist and actively augment human movements with different types of actuators. Flexible, versatile spinal exoskeletons are designed to better support the spine. As new technologies enable the development of motorized wearable exoskeletons, several types have been introduced into the medical field application. We have provided a thorough review of the current spinal robotic technologies in this paper. The shortcomings in the current spinal exoskeletons were identified. Their limitations on the use for patients with OSF with potential improvement strategies were discussed. With our current knowledge of spinal orthosis for conservatively managed OSF, a semi-rigid backpack style thoracolumbar spinal robotic orthosis will reduce spinal bone stress and improve back muscle support. This will lead to back pain reduction, improved posture, and overall mobility. Early mobilization is an important part of management of patients with OSF as it reduces the chance of developing complications related to their immobile state for patients with OSF, which will be helpful for their recovery.

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Section: Active Spine Bracesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This mechanism is comprised of flexible beams that run parallel to the spine, providing a large range of motion and lowering the peak torque requirements around the lumbosacral (L5/S1) joint. It also consists of a compensating hip module and a passive hip torque source [ 51 ] (see Figure 17 ).…”

Section: Active Spine Bracesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Current Spinal Robotic Orthoses

Mak

Accoto

2021

Healthcare

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“…With the development of bionic devices, more and more wearable devices have emerged to help people carry loads. one of these devices is wearable exoskeleton [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Exoskeleton is a wearable device supporting the human to generate the physical power required for manual tasks [11].…”

Section: Back-support Exoskeletonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The active exoskeleton is composed of one or more actuation units, whose main function is to drive the mechanical structure through the actuators during the movement, and output torque with the human body joint [13]. On the one hand, notable research prototypes in passive exoskeleton include the PLAD [14], the BNDR [15] and SPEXOR [16,17]. There are also some passive exoskeleton products (e.g., BackX [18] and Leavo [11]) in the industrial field because the drive structure is easy to realize.…”

Section: Back-support Exoskeletonmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Hip Active Assisted Exoskeleton That Assists the Semi-Squat Lifting

et al. 2020

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(1) Background: In the case of quick picking and heavy lifting, the carrying action results in a much more active myoelectric signal in the lower back than in an upright stationary one, and there is a high risk of back muscle injury without proper handling skills and equipment. (2) Methods: To reduce the risk of LBP during manual handing tasks, a hip active exoskeleton is designed to assist human manual lifting. A power control method is introduced into the control loop in the process of assisting human transportation. The power curve imitates the semi-squat movement of the human body as the output power of the hip joint. (3) Results: According to the test, the torque can be output according to the wearer’s movement. During the semi-squat lifting process, the EMG (electromyogram) signal of the vertical spine at L5/S1 was reduced by 30–48% and the metabolic cost of energy was reduced by 18% compared the situation of without EXO. (4) Conclusion: The exoskeleton joint output torque can change in an adaptive manner according to the angular velocity of the wearer’s joint. The exoskeleton can assist the waist muscles and the hip joint in the case of the reciprocating semi-squat lifting movement.

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