Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation
Statistics from the National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP) indicate that Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability in the Thai population. Various rehabilitation methods are available to support SCI patients. Assistive robots, such as exoskeletons and prosth...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2023-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10328556/ |
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| author | Branesh M. Pillai Peerapat Owatchaiyapong Shen Treratanakulchai Dileep Sivaraman Songpol Ongwattanakul Jackrit Suthakorn |
| author_facet | Branesh M. Pillai Peerapat Owatchaiyapong Shen Treratanakulchai Dileep Sivaraman Songpol Ongwattanakul Jackrit Suthakorn |
| author_sort | Branesh M. Pillai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Statistics from the National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP) indicate that Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability in the Thai population. Various rehabilitation methods are available to support SCI patients. Assistive robots, such as exoskeletons and prosthetics, are very useful for improving quality of life. Robotic exoskeletons have evolved as rehabilitation methods that can overcome some of the current health-related effects of SCI. In the current study, a lower-limb exoskeleton was developed to assist or rehabilitate a physically challenged person who has lost mobility owing to SCI. To overcome energy storage issues related to existing designs, the device uses a spring and camshaft system that is integrated with the robot structure to reduce the required energy by absorbing the body weight into spring potential energy and released by the cam design. Hence, the spring cam system significantly reduced torque on the joints, with approximately <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$17-30\%$ </tex-math></inline-formula> reduction in the angle joint and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$40-48\%$ </tex-math></inline-formula> reduction in the knee joint. Control of the exoskeleton is carried out by analyzing brain signals (EEG) and eye movement signals (EOG), which are combined with the control system to perform daily activities, such as walking, turning, and standing. This exoskeleton boasts a maximum walking speed of 0.5 m/s and a remarkable two-hour full-load operation, making it a promising solution for enhancing the mobility and quality of life of individuals with SCI. The effectiveness of the developed exoskeleton in assisting individuals with mobility impairments was validated through comprehensive laboratory-level experimental analysis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:03:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c985059b80e41188f62639f5529c655 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:03:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c985059b80e41188f62639f5529c6552023-12-08T00:07:14ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362023-01-011113385013386610.1109/ACCESS.2023.333630810328556Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury RehabilitationBranesh M. Pillai0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4850-5812Peerapat Owatchaiyapong1Shen Treratanakulchai2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8530-9274Dileep Sivaraman3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7579-2087Songpol Ongwattanakul4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7205-218XJackrit Suthakorn5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1333-3982Center for Biomedical and Robotics Technology (BART LAB), Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, ThailandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Education, Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, ThailandCenter for Biomedical and Robotics Technology (BART LAB), Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, ThailandCenter for Biomedical and Robotics Technology (BART LAB), Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, ThailandCenter for Biomedical and Robotics Technology (BART LAB), Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, ThailandCenter for Biomedical and Robotics Technology (BART LAB), Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, ThailandStatistics from the National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP) indicate that Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability in the Thai population. Various rehabilitation methods are available to support SCI patients. Assistive robots, such as exoskeletons and prosthetics, are very useful for improving quality of life. Robotic exoskeletons have evolved as rehabilitation methods that can overcome some of the current health-related effects of SCI. In the current study, a lower-limb exoskeleton was developed to assist or rehabilitate a physically challenged person who has lost mobility owing to SCI. To overcome energy storage issues related to existing designs, the device uses a spring and camshaft system that is integrated with the robot structure to reduce the required energy by absorbing the body weight into spring potential energy and released by the cam design. Hence, the spring cam system significantly reduced torque on the joints, with approximately <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$17-30\%$ </tex-math></inline-formula> reduction in the angle joint and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$40-48\%$ </tex-math></inline-formula> reduction in the knee joint. Control of the exoskeleton is carried out by analyzing brain signals (EEG) and eye movement signals (EOG), which are combined with the control system to perform daily activities, such as walking, turning, and standing. This exoskeleton boasts a maximum walking speed of 0.5 m/s and a remarkable two-hour full-load operation, making it a promising solution for enhancing the mobility and quality of life of individuals with SCI. The effectiveness of the developed exoskeleton in assisting individuals with mobility impairments was validated through comprehensive laboratory-level experimental analysis.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10328556/Spinal cord injury (SCI)robotic rehabilitationlower limb exoskeletonmedical roboticsbrain-computer interfacegait analysis |
| spellingShingle | Branesh M. Pillai Peerapat Owatchaiyapong Shen Treratanakulchai Dileep Sivaraman Songpol Ongwattanakul Jackrit Suthakorn Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation IEEE Access Spinal cord injury (SCI) robotic rehabilitation lower limb exoskeleton medical robotics brain-computer interface gait analysis |
| title | Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation |
| title_full | Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation |
| title_fullStr | Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation |
| title_short | Lower Limb Exoskeleton With Energy-Storing Mechanism for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation |
| title_sort | lower limb exoskeleton with energy storing mechanism for spinal cord injury rehabilitation |
| topic | Spinal cord injury (SCI) robotic rehabilitation lower limb exoskeleton medical robotics brain-computer interface gait analysis |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10328556/ |
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