An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD
Background: Robot-assisted gait therapy is a fast-growing field in pediatric neuro-rehabilitation. Understanding how these constantly developing technologies work is a prerequisite for shaping clinical application. For the Lokomat, two new features are supposed to increase patients' movement va...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2019.00109/full |
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| author | Tabea Aurich-Schuler Tabea Aurich-Schuler Rob Labruyère Rob Labruyère |
| author_facet | Tabea Aurich-Schuler Tabea Aurich-Schuler Rob Labruyère Rob Labruyère |
| author_sort | Tabea Aurich-Schuler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Robot-assisted gait therapy is a fast-growing field in pediatric neuro-rehabilitation. Understanding how these constantly developing technologies work is a prerequisite for shaping clinical application. For the Lokomat, two new features are supposed to increase patients' movement variability and should enable a more physiological gait pattern: Path Control and FreeD. This work provides a secondary data analysis of a previously published study, and looks at surface electromyography (sEMG) during Guidance Force walking and six sub-conditions of Path Control and FreeD.Objective: The aim was to evaluate different levels of kinematic freedom on the gait pattern of pediatric patients by modulating settings of Path Control and FreeD.Methods: Fifteen patients (mean age 16 ± 2 years) with neurological gait disorders completed the measurements. We analyzed sEMG amplitudes and the correlation of sEMG patterns with normative data of five leg muscles during walking conditions with increasing kinematic freedom in the Lokomat. The new outcome measure of inter-step similarity is introduced as a proxy for walking task complexity.Results: Within Path Control, sub-conditions showed significantly higher sEMG amplitudes in a majority of muscles with increasing kinematic freedom, and correlations with the norm pattern increased with increasing kinematic freedom. FreeD sub-conditions generally showed low or even negative correlations with the norm pattern and a lower inter-step similarity compared to Guidance Force.Conclusions: In general, this work highlights that the new hard- and software approaches of the Lokomat influence muscle activity differently. An increase of kinematic freedom of the walking condition led to an increase in muscular effort (Path Control) or to a higher step variability (FreeD) which can be interpreted as an increased task complexity of this condition. The inter-step similarity could be a helpful tool for the therapist to estimate the patient's state of strain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:35:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b10142adab794e2eaabb1aee893dcf0f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:35:03Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
| spelling | doaj.art-b10142adab794e2eaabb1aee893dcf0f2022-12-22T03:36:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Robotics and AI2296-91442019-10-01610.3389/frobt.2019.00109484070An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeDTabea Aurich-Schuler0Tabea Aurich-Schuler1Rob Labruyère2Rob Labruyère3Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adolescents, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Affoltern am Albis, SwitzerlandChildren's Research Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandRehabilitation Center for Children and Adolescents, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Affoltern am Albis, SwitzerlandChildren's Research Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandBackground: Robot-assisted gait therapy is a fast-growing field in pediatric neuro-rehabilitation. Understanding how these constantly developing technologies work is a prerequisite for shaping clinical application. For the Lokomat, two new features are supposed to increase patients' movement variability and should enable a more physiological gait pattern: Path Control and FreeD. This work provides a secondary data analysis of a previously published study, and looks at surface electromyography (sEMG) during Guidance Force walking and six sub-conditions of Path Control and FreeD.Objective: The aim was to evaluate different levels of kinematic freedom on the gait pattern of pediatric patients by modulating settings of Path Control and FreeD.Methods: Fifteen patients (mean age 16 ± 2 years) with neurological gait disorders completed the measurements. We analyzed sEMG amplitudes and the correlation of sEMG patterns with normative data of five leg muscles during walking conditions with increasing kinematic freedom in the Lokomat. The new outcome measure of inter-step similarity is introduced as a proxy for walking task complexity.Results: Within Path Control, sub-conditions showed significantly higher sEMG amplitudes in a majority of muscles with increasing kinematic freedom, and correlations with the norm pattern increased with increasing kinematic freedom. FreeD sub-conditions generally showed low or even negative correlations with the norm pattern and a lower inter-step similarity compared to Guidance Force.Conclusions: In general, this work highlights that the new hard- and software approaches of the Lokomat influence muscle activity differently. An increase of kinematic freedom of the walking condition led to an increase in muscular effort (Path Control) or to a higher step variability (FreeD) which can be interpreted as an increased task complexity of this condition. The inter-step similarity could be a helpful tool for the therapist to estimate the patient's state of strain.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2019.00109/fullchildrenpatientsrobot-assisted gait therapysurface electromyographymuscle activitystep variability |
| spellingShingle | Tabea Aurich-Schuler Tabea Aurich-Schuler Rob Labruyère Rob Labruyère An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD Frontiers in Robotics and AI children patients robot-assisted gait therapy surface electromyography muscle activity step variability |
| title | An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD |
| title_full | An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD |
| title_fullStr | An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD |
| title_short | An Increase in Kinematic Freedom in the Lokomat Is Related to the Ability to Elicit a Physiological Muscle Activity Pattern: A Secondary Data Analysis Investigating Differences Between Guidance Force, Path Control, and FreeD |
| title_sort | increase in kinematic freedom in the lokomat is related to the ability to elicit a physiological muscle activity pattern a secondary data analysis investigating differences between guidance force path control and freed |
| topic | children patients robot-assisted gait therapy surface electromyography muscle activity step variability |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2019.00109/full |
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