Tao Fang1,2,3,1, Wujing Cao1,2,3,1, Chunjie Chen1,2,3, Yu Zhang1,2,3, Zhuo Wang1,2, Xinyu Wu1,2,3. 1. Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. 2. CAS Key Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. 3. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Population aging is now a universal trend. Many elderly persons can only conduct limited and short time walking because of age-related skeletal muscle decline of the lower limbs. The wearable device for walking assistance is beneficial to improve the life quality of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to propose a soft exosuit for walking assistance of the elderly and verify its feasibility. METHODS: The wearable structure and control strategy were presented. The performance of the soft exosuit was tested by force tracking evaluation and metabolic cost test. RESULTS: The mean error of the measured and target peak force was 1.1%. The metabolic cost with assistance on while wearing the exosuit was reduced by 9.2% compared with that in locomotion assistance off. The reduction of assistance on was 7.1% compared with no exosuit. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed soft exosuit has the potential to improve the walking efficiency of the elderly.
BACKGROUND: Population aging is now a universal trend. Many elderly persons can only conduct limited and short time walking because of age-related skeletal muscle decline of the lower limbs. The wearable device for walking assistance is beneficial to improve the life quality of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to propose a soft exosuit for walking assistance of the elderly and verify its feasibility. METHODS: The wearable structure and control strategy were presented. The performance of the soft exosuit was tested by force tracking evaluation and metabolic cost test. RESULTS: The mean error of the measured and target peak force was 1.1%. The metabolic cost with assistance on while wearing the exosuit was reduced by 9.2% compared with that in locomotion assistance off. The reduction of assistance on was 7.1% compared with no exosuit. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed soft exosuit has the potential to improve the walking efficiency of the elderly.
Entities:
Keywords:
Soft exosuit; hip assistance; lower limb exoskeleton; walking augment
Authors: Cristina Bayón; Arvid Q L Keemink; Michelle van Mierlo; Wolfgang Rampeltshammer; Herman van der Kooij; Edwin H F van Asseldonk Journal: J Neuroeng Rehabil Date: 2022-02-17 Impact factor: 4.262