Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount?
Climbing stairs can become a daily obstacle for elderly people, and an exoskeleton can assist here. However, the exoskeletons that are designed to assist stair climbing are actuated in different ways. To find a minimal actuation configuration, we identify the assist phases by evaluating the power de...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Wearable Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000019/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811155713259470848 |
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| author | Max Böhme Felix Weiske Jens Jäkel Johannes Zentner Maren Witt |
| author_facet | Max Böhme Felix Weiske Jens Jäkel Johannes Zentner Maren Witt |
| author_sort | Max Böhme |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climbing stairs can become a daily obstacle for elderly people, and an exoskeleton can assist here. However, the exoskeletons that are designed to assist stair climbing are actuated in different ways. To find a minimal actuation configuration, we identify the assist phases by evaluating the power deficit of 11 healthy but weak elderly people (72.4 ± 2.1 years; 69–76 years; 1.67 ± 0.10 m; 74.88 ± 14.54 kg) compared to 13 younger people (24.0 ± 1.8 years; 22–28 years; 1.74 ± 0.10 m; 70.85 ± 11.91 kg) in a biomechanical study and discuss moment characteristics. Three-dimensional kinematics and ground reaction forces were collected, and kinematics, kinetics, and power characteristics of each subject for ascent and descent were calculated using inverse dynamics. Significant differences for power between both groups were assessed with statistical parametric mapping method using dynamic time warping. During ascent, the largest significant power deficit of the elderly subjects occurs in the single stance phase (SSP) during pull-up in the knee joint. During descent, significant mean power deficits of 0.2 and 0.8 W/kg for the highest deficit occur in the ankle joint in the beginning of the SSP and also in the knee joint in the same phase. Therefore, an exoskeleton should address the power deficit for knee extension (ascent: 1.0 ± 0.9 W/kg; descent: 0.3 ± 0.2 W/kg) and could assist the ankle during ascent and descent by an additional plantar flexion moment of 0.2 Nm/kg each. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fbabde01dfe540aeb9b0cb3a0df2acdd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2631-7176 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wearable Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-fbabde01dfe540aeb9b0cb3a0df2acdd2023-03-09T12:43:51ZengCambridge University PressWearable Technologies2631-71762022-01-01310.1017/wtc.2022.1Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount?Max Böhme0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5014-8631Felix Weiske1Jens Jäkel2Johannes Zentner3Maren Witt4Faculty of Engineering, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Leipzig, Germany Faculty V—Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, GermanyFaculty of Engineering, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Leipzig, GermanyFaculty of Engineering, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Leipzig, GermanyFaculty of Engineering, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biomechanics, Faculty of Sport Science, University Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyClimbing stairs can become a daily obstacle for elderly people, and an exoskeleton can assist here. However, the exoskeletons that are designed to assist stair climbing are actuated in different ways. To find a minimal actuation configuration, we identify the assist phases by evaluating the power deficit of 11 healthy but weak elderly people (72.4 ± 2.1 years; 69–76 years; 1.67 ± 0.10 m; 74.88 ± 14.54 kg) compared to 13 younger people (24.0 ± 1.8 years; 22–28 years; 1.74 ± 0.10 m; 70.85 ± 11.91 kg) in a biomechanical study and discuss moment characteristics. Three-dimensional kinematics and ground reaction forces were collected, and kinematics, kinetics, and power characteristics of each subject for ascent and descent were calculated using inverse dynamics. Significant differences for power between both groups were assessed with statistical parametric mapping method using dynamic time warping. During ascent, the largest significant power deficit of the elderly subjects occurs in the single stance phase (SSP) during pull-up in the knee joint. During descent, significant mean power deficits of 0.2 and 0.8 W/kg for the highest deficit occur in the ankle joint in the beginning of the SSP and also in the knee joint in the same phase. Therefore, an exoskeleton should address the power deficit for knee extension (ascent: 1.0 ± 0.9 W/kg; descent: 0.3 ± 0.2 W/kg) and could assist the ankle during ascent and descent by an additional plantar flexion moment of 0.2 Nm/kg each.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000019/type/journal_articleExoskeletonknee jointlower extremitypower deficitstair climbing |
| spellingShingle | Max Böhme Felix Weiske Jens Jäkel Johannes Zentner Maren Witt Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount? Wearable Technologies Exoskeleton knee joint lower extremity power deficit stair climbing |
| title | Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount? |
| title_full | Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount? |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount? |
| title_short | Evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation: Which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount? |
| title_sort | evaluation of the power deficit of elderly people during stair negotiation which joints should be assisted at least by an exoskeleton and with what amount |
| topic | Exoskeleton knee joint lower extremity power deficit stair climbing |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000019/type/journal_article |
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