Foot-wheel driven exoskeleton for rehabilitation training of paraplegic patients

MA Qingchuan; JI Linhong; WANG Rencheng; LI Wei

doi:10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2017.26.025

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Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology) ›› 2017, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (6) : 597-603. DOI: 10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2017.26.025

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Foot-wheel driven exoskeleton for rehabilitation training of paraplegic patients

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Abstract

Paraplegic patients must rely on assistive devices for movement with upright walking as their most pressing need. A powered lower-limb exoskeleton with mechanical structure is introduced in this study, which enables the patients to walk alternatively and further benefit their engagement in the rehabilitation training. The system includes a foot-wheel driven exoskeleton and wireless control crutches. The exoskeleton is driven by a hub motor at the bottom of the exoskeleton's foot. The crutches act as auxiliary devices to support the walking and control the exoskeleton motion by the embedded wireless controller. Alternative pressing of button on the crutch enables the continued walking with the whole walking procedure was fully controlled by the user in real-time. An automatic brake and mechanical limitations of the maximum step length were both designed to provide operational safety. The gait of a healthy subject with and without the exoskeleton were analyzed in a 3D gait analysis system. The spatio-temporal parameters and kinematic figures show that the exoskeleton can assist the user to complete secure, stable walk in a standing posture.

Key words

powered exoskeleton / paraplegia / lower limb orthosis / rehabilitation device

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MA Qingchuan, JI Linhong, WANG Rencheng, LI Wei. Foot-wheel driven exoskeleton for rehabilitation training of paraplegic patients[J]. Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology). 2017, 57(6): 597-603 https://doi.org/10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2017.26.025

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