Walkaround: Mobile Balance Support for Therapy of Walking

Abstract

We describe here the Walkaround, a new rehabilitation device that allows walking without hand support of individuals with limited ability to control posture. The design of this device was motivated by the recent development of functional electrical therapy of walking in individuals with hemiplegia, who in many cases need postural and body weight assistance while walking. The Walkaround assists humans with a compromised posture, inability to fully support the body weight on one leg, and prevents their falls. These three features are accomplished by an ergonomic lumbar belt being attached to a rigid wheeled frame by a suspensor system. The height of the frame which interfaces the ground by three telescopic bars, the size of the belt, and the pretension of the suspension system, can all be adjusted to complement the size and the needs of the potential user. The amount of body weight support can be adjusted by setting the lengths of telescopic bars and the pretension of the springs in the suspensors. The prototype device was tested on five individuals with hemiplegia. The walking assisted by the Walkaround was significantly faster (Deltav = 0.13 m/s p 0.05) in comparison to walking assisted by a therapist. The symmetry index between paretic and non affected leg was decreased (Delta R(stance) = -7.4% p 0.05, Delta R (swing) =-9.2%, p 0.05, symmetry improved) when walking assisted by the Walkaround. The users and therapists were positive about the performance of the Walkaround. The users felt safer and the therapists were relieved from the physical effort allowing them to concentrate more on assisting - a nearly normal walking pattern.

Sensor-driven four-channel stimulation of paretic leg: Functional electrical walking therapy

“…The input data in this case were signals coming from accelerometers (ACC) and force sensing resistors (FSR), and the output data were electromyography (EMG) signals. The input and output data were captured from stroke subjects while walking with a powered walking assist Walkaround ® that allows for near normal walking (Veg and Popović, 2008). The input data come from two accelerometers (ADXL203, Analog Devices, US) aligned along the shank of the paretic leg at a distance of 14 cm, one force-sensing resistor (Interlink Electronics, US) mounted into the heel zone of the insole of the paretic leg (FSR P ), and one force-sensing resistor mounted in the metatarsal zone of the insole of the non-paretic leg (FSR NP ).…”

ROAD: domestic assistant and rehabilitation robot

“…They are able to support patient's body, while he or she maintain a nearly natural walk and can concentrate on other activities. Within the group of gait rehabilitation, the walkaround system helps to walk to people who have suffered from hemiplegia or other diseases that require assistance in posture [34].…”

Design and control of JAIST active robotic walker

“…For the elderly and/or lower limb disabled people, there have been many examples of prototype and robotic walking aids such as robotic wheelchair [4,5], robotic cane [6,7], robotic crutch [8], powered exoskeleton [9][10][11], and robotic walker [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Among them, wheelchairs [4,5] are the most widely used mobility aids.…”

“…It is also troublesome to wear and unwear repeatedly whenever needed. Robotic walkers can be further divided into passive [12][13][14][15] and active walkers [16][17][18]. The features of passive walkers include low cost, simple structure, and compact size, which enable them to be easily fit for use in our daily environment.…”

“…Specifically, robotic walking aids have been developed for the elderly and/or lower limb disabled people. Notable examples include robotic wheelchair [4,5], robotic cane [6,7], powered exoskeleton [9][10][11], and robotic walker [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. These mobility assistive devices provided users with a certain level of ambulatory capability toward independent living.…”