Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton
Stroke disease leads to a partial or complete disability affecting muscle strength and functional mobility. Early rehabilitation sessions might induce neuroplasticity and restore the affected function or structure of the patients. Robotic rehabilitation minimizes the burden on therapists by providin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Biosensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/12/10/873 |
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| author | Sophia Otálora Felipe Ballen-Moreno Luis Arciniegas-Mayag Carlos A. Cifuentes Marcela Múnera |
| author_facet | Sophia Otálora Felipe Ballen-Moreno Luis Arciniegas-Mayag Carlos A. Cifuentes Marcela Múnera |
| author_sort | Sophia Otálora |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Stroke disease leads to a partial or complete disability affecting muscle strength and functional mobility. Early rehabilitation sessions might induce neuroplasticity and restore the affected function or structure of the patients. Robotic rehabilitation minimizes the burden on therapists by providing repetitive and regularly monitored therapies. Commercial exoskeletons have been found to assist hip and knee motion. For instance, unilateral exoskeletons have the potential to become an effective training system for patients with hemiparesis. However, these robotic devices leave the ankle joint unassisted, essential in gait for body propulsion and weight-bearing. This article evaluates the effects of the robotic ankle orthosis T-FLEX during cooperative assistance with the AGoRA unilateral lower-limb exoskeleton (hip and knee actuation). This study involves nine subjects, measuring muscle activity and gait parameters such as stance and swing times. The results showed a reduction in muscle activity in the Biceps Femoris of 50%, Lateral Gastrocnemius of 59% and Tibialis Anterior of 35% when adding T-FLEX to the AGoRA unilateral lower-limb exoskeleton. No differences were found in gait parameters. Nevertheless, stability is preserved when comparing the two legs. Future works should focus on evaluating the devices in ground tests in healthy subjects and pathological patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:35:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c5430fd832c43959bd0aca30961c7b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6374 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:35:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biosensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c5430fd832c43959bd0aca30961c7b22023-11-23T23:12:02ZengMDPI AGBiosensors2079-63742022-10-01121087310.3390/bios12100873Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral ExoskeletonSophia Otálora0Felipe Ballen-Moreno1Luis Arciniegas-Mayag2Carlos A. Cifuentes3Marcela Múnera4Graduate Program of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria 29075-910, BrazilRobotics & Multibody Mechanics (R&MM) Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, BelgiumGraduate Program of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria 29075-910, BrazilBristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UKDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Colombian School of Engineering Julio Garavito, Bogota 111166, ColombiaStroke disease leads to a partial or complete disability affecting muscle strength and functional mobility. Early rehabilitation sessions might induce neuroplasticity and restore the affected function or structure of the patients. Robotic rehabilitation minimizes the burden on therapists by providing repetitive and regularly monitored therapies. Commercial exoskeletons have been found to assist hip and knee motion. For instance, unilateral exoskeletons have the potential to become an effective training system for patients with hemiparesis. However, these robotic devices leave the ankle joint unassisted, essential in gait for body propulsion and weight-bearing. This article evaluates the effects of the robotic ankle orthosis T-FLEX during cooperative assistance with the AGoRA unilateral lower-limb exoskeleton (hip and knee actuation). This study involves nine subjects, measuring muscle activity and gait parameters such as stance and swing times. The results showed a reduction in muscle activity in the Biceps Femoris of 50%, Lateral Gastrocnemius of 59% and Tibialis Anterior of 35% when adding T-FLEX to the AGoRA unilateral lower-limb exoskeleton. No differences were found in gait parameters. Nevertheless, stability is preserved when comparing the two legs. Future works should focus on evaluating the devices in ground tests in healthy subjects and pathological patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/12/10/873EMG analysisexoskeletonorthosisrehabilitationstroke |
| spellingShingle | Sophia Otálora Felipe Ballen-Moreno Luis Arciniegas-Mayag Carlos A. Cifuentes Marcela Múnera Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton Biosensors EMG analysis exoskeleton orthosis rehabilitation stroke |
| title | Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton |
| title_full | Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton |
| title_fullStr | Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton |
| title_short | Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton |
| title_sort | biomechanical effects of adding an ankle soft actuation in a unilateral exoskeleton |
| topic | EMG analysis exoskeleton orthosis rehabilitation stroke |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/12/10/873 |
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