Showing papers on "Exoskeleton Device published in 2010"

Wearable lower limb exoskeleton device

Abstract: The invention discloses a wearable lower limb exoskeleton device, which comprises a waist supporting frame, a waist object carrier, an adjustable hip mechanism, a connecting rod adjustable knee joint mechanism, a connecting rod adjustable ankle joint mechanism, pressure detection shoes, a leg connecting rod, a constraint part and various connecting pieces. Both lower limbs have twelve rotational freedoms, the single lower limb has six degrees of freedom respectively, a hip has two degrees of freedom which finish bending and stretching as well as adduction and abduction movements of a hip joint, two joint axes always intersects at the center of the hip joint of a human body through the adjustment of the hip mechanism, and a knee joint has one degree of freedom which is coaxial with the knee joint of the human body and corresponds to the bending and stretching movement of the knee joint of the human body; and an ankle joint has three degrees of freedom. The device has good consistency of the movement of the hip joint and the movement of the human body during the walking of people; human-machine knee joints have small coaxality and position deviation; and the ankle joint has a compact structure. The device can be used for strengthening the abilities of walking with load and walking for a long time of wearers and detecting walking information of the wearers, and can also be used for helping people with slight obstacle of lower limb movement to normally walk and gradually rehabilitate.

A human hand compatible optimised exoskeleton system

Abstract: This paper proposes a novel design of a hand exoskeleton System. The optimisation of the exoskeleton device (link lengths, actuation) was achieved through the procedure targeting the natural finger workspace and capabilities. To define the design requirements of the hand exoskeleton device, an analysis of the hand daily life common activities has been carried out. Range of motion, maximum and average force levels exerted by human hands of different sizes and various age groups have been measured using appropriate instrumentation. Results of these experiments mapped directly to the mechanical design of the system. An under-actuated optimum mechanism has been proposed. A rapid prototype of the proposed design has been realized to analyze and demonstrate the mechanism and to verify the optimisation results. Results have shown that the hand exoskeleton system covers the complete range of motion of a natural human hand.

Prototype Medical Exoskeleton for Paraplegic Mobility: First Experimental Results

Abstract: Spinal cord injuries leave thousands of patients confined to wheelchairs, resulting in a life of severely limited mobility. This condition also subjects them to the risk of secondary injuries. Because exoskeletons are externally driven machines in which the actuation is coupled to the person’s joints, they offer an ideal method to help paraplegics walk. The exoskeleton presented here is a mobile, battery powered device that uses hydraulically actuated hip and knee joints in the sagittal plane to move a patient’s joints. The control strategy mimics standard human walking using foot sensors to determine the walking state. This activates position control of the joints to follow standard walking trajectories based on clinical gait analysis data. Initial patient testing of the device showed that the exoskeleton enabled one incomplete paraplegic to significantly improve his gait function and three complete paraplegic patients to walk.Copyright © 2010 by ASME

Simulation-based design of exoskeletons using musculoskeletal analysis

Abstract: Exoskeletons are a new class of articulated mechanical systems whose performance is realized while in intimate contact with the human user. The overall performance depends on many factors including selection of architecture, device, parameters and the nature of the coupling to the human, offering numerous challenges to design-evaluation and refinement. In this paper, we discuss merger of techniques from the musculoskeletal analysis and simulation-based design to study and analyze the performance of such exoskeletons. A representative example of a simplified exoskeleton interacting with and assisting the human arm is used to illustrate principal ideas. Overall, four different case-scenarios are developed and examined with quantitative performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the design and allow for design refinement. The results show that augmentation by way of the exoskeleton can lead to a significant reduction in muscle loading.© 2010 ASME

Reconfigurable ankle exoskeleton device

Abstract: The present invention relates to a ungrounded, reconfigurable, parallel mechanism based, force feedback exoskeleton device for the human ankle. The primary use for the device is aimed as a balance/proprioception trainer, while the exeskeleton device can also be employed to accommodate range of motion (RoM)/strengthening exercises. This device is also used for metatarsophalangeal joint exercises.

Design Requirements for a Tendon Rehabilitation Robot: Results From a Survey of Engineers and Health Professionals

Abstract: Exoskeleton type finger rehabilitation robots are helpful in assisting the treatment of tendon injuries. A survey has been carried out with engineers and health professionals to further develop an existing finger exoskeleton prototype. The goal of the study is to better understand the relative importance of several design criteria through the analysis of survey results and to improve the finger exoskeleton accordingly. The survey questions with strong correlations are identified and the preferences of the two respondent groups are statistically compared. The results of the statistical analysis are interpreted and insights obtained are used to guide the design process. The answers to the qualitative questions are also discussed together with their design implications. Finally, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has been employed for visualizing these functional requirements in relation to the customer requirements.

An Intelligent Exoskeleton for Lower Limb Rehabilitation

Abstract: A lightweight adjustable exoskeleton is designed to exercise human legs of varying size and weights. The exoskeleton is actuated by three DC motors at the hip, knee, and ankle. An experimental setup with motor controllers, power supplies, a controlled board, and a computer is developed for closed loop control. A sliding mode control law is designed and implemented to exercise an articulated mannequin leg. It is shown that the exoskeleton is able to adapt to external forces making it suitable to aid in the human leg rehabilitation process. 1 INTRODUCTION Rehabilitation is a required but difficult process for patients trying to recover the full control of their hips, knees, or other parts of their body. Some of the most important types of rehabilitation include neuromuscular rehabilitation for neutrally impaired patients due to spinal cord injury and muscle/ligament rehabilitation for patients with hip, knee, or ankle replacement surgery. Spinal cord is capable of relearning the ability to walk through proper training even when cut off from the brain [1, 2]. A large proportion of people with spinal cord injury who sustain motor incomplete lesions can regain some recovery in their walking ability. Symmetrical movements of lower extremities consistent with normal physiological gait patterns provide critical sensory cues necessary for maintaining and enhancing walking ability [3]. While procedures such as hip replacement surgery can be very beneficial, the best way to maximize those benefits is through proper rehabilitation. The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation says as Baby Boomers age, the number of total hip replacements is expected to increase by more than 60 percent in the next 30 years. Physical therapy is extremely important in the overall outcome of any joint replacement surgery. The goals of physical therapy are to prevent contractures, improve patient education, and strengthen muscles through controlled exercises. Contractures result from scarring of the tissues around the joint. Contractures do not permit full range of motion, and therefore impede mobility of the replaced joint. A promising solution for rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury, those with joint replacement surgery, and many other mobility-impaired patients, is to design exoskeletal devices. It has already been shown that motorized robotic-assisted devices can be very helpful in training individuals to regain their walking ability following motor incomplete spinal cord injury [4]. Exoskeletal devices have the potential to be used during sitting, standing, and walking stages of rehabilitation. The study of the exoskeletal power assist systems was first initiated in the late 1960’s on a 30-DOF full-body exoskeleton which was called Hardiman [5]. Another early suggested exoskeleton was a 7-DOF man-amplifying arm with two-axis (universal) joints [6]. Exoskeletal systems have also been suggested as rehabilitative tools. A driven gait orthosis has been developed that can move patient’s legs on a treadmill [7]. Another device has been developed to provide walking aid for people with gait disorder [8]. This device has a hybrid control system that consists of posture and power-assist control based on biological feedback. The actuators are DC servomotors generating assist moments at the hip and the knee joints. 1 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

An Upper Limb Exoskeleton for Pinpointed Muscular Exercises With Overextension Injury Prevention

Abstract: Over-automated equipments and modern city life style lead to the diminishing opportunities for muscle using; however, the comfortable life is not always good for human health, and appropriate muscle training can not only enhance muscular strength and endurance but improve the health and fitness. Different kinds of ideas have been proposed for muscle training by exercise machines, which control direction of resistance for safety sake but isolate specific muscle groups to be trained. Compared with machines, free-weight exercise is a whole-body training in which human limbs can be moved on different planes to train more muscle groups. In this study, an upper limb exoskeleton design is proposed for free-weight exercise to strengthen the principal muscles of upper limb and shoulder. The upper limb exoskeleton is constituted of 3-DOF shoulder joint and 1-DOF elbow joint. The joint torques of shoulder and elbow joint of the exoskeleton match the objective joint torques from a model of free-weight exercise. The principal muscles of human arm and shoulder are training by dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell frontal raise, dumbbell curl motion, and overhead triceps extension motion. With the arrangement of small-inertia springs, the exoskeleton is capable of preventing the muscle from injuries caused by the huge inertia change. The evaluation of the model was conducted by using isokinetic dynamometer to measure shoulder abduction-adduction, shoulder flexion-extension, and elbow flexion-extension for the male and female adults, and the results matched with the data obtained from the derived model.Copyright © 2010 by ASME

Gravity Balancing Conditions for an Upper Arm Exoskeleton

Abstract: An upper-arm wearable exoskeleton has been designed for assistance and functional training of humans. One of the goals of this design is to provide passive assistance to a user by gravity balancing, while keeping the transmitted forces to the shoulder joints at a minimum. Consistent with this goal, this paper addresses the following questions: (i) an analytical study of gravity balancing design conditions for the structure of the human arm, (ii) minimization of transmitted shoulder joint forces while satisfying the gravity balancing conditions, and (iii) possible implementation of these conditions into practical designs using zero-free length springs.

Exoskeleton Apparatus For Assistant physical strength

Abstract: The present invention relates to a muscle strength auxiliary exoskeleton device, it is to provide a robust power to assist the body's ability to help with certain freedom to enable the operation in the direction required with a strength aid. This strength auxiliary exoskeleton apparatus according to the present invention comprises a shoulder in-line apparatus, a serial type apparatus and elbow wrist parallel mechanism. Wherein the shoulder and in-line mechanism comprises a joint such as the shoulder joint and the front and rear left and right shoulder joint room, it may include a link connecting each joint. And elbow series-type mechanism is connected to the shoulder in-line apparatus and including a link forming the upper arm and forearm of the possible elbow joints and the elbow joint motion at a certain angle, the wrist portion parallel mechanism is connected to the elbow in-line mechanisms the wearer's wrist having three degrees of freedom and supported for rotation movement.