TY - GEN
T1 - Development of a soft-inflatable exosuit for knee rehabilitation
AU - Sridar, Saivimal
AU - Nguyen, Pham H.
AU - Zhu, Mengjia
AU - Lam, Quoc P.
AU - Polygerinos, Panagiotis
N1 - Funding Information:
Future efforts will also be made to improve the functionality of the exosuit for a wider variety of tasks such as sit to stand, stair ascent, seated rehabilitative exercises, walking up or down a ramp. Steps to manufacture a new prototype with onboard pneumatic system and untethered communication to the insole sensors will be explored for better functionality and capabilities of providing assisted living. Finally, trials with impaired participants will be pursued in collaboration with our clinical partners at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Virginia G. Piper foundation for supporting this research through the health solutions Piper award. REFERENCES
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 IEEE.
PY - 2017/12/13
Y1 - 2017/12/13
N2 - This paper presents the design, development and preliminary evaluation of a soft-inflatable exosuit for knee rehabilitation. Soft-inflatable actuators made of heat-sealable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials are fabricated in two different beam-like structures (I and O cross-section actuators) and mechanically characterized for their torque performance in knee-extension assistance. The fabrication procedure of both types of actuators is presented as well as their integration into a lightweight, low-cost and body-conforming interface. To detect the activation duration of the device during the gait cycle, a soft-silicone insole with embedded force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) is used. In evaluation studies, the soft-inflatable exosuit device is tested for its ability to reduce muscle activity during the swing phase of the knee. Using sEMG (surface electromyography) sensors, the rectus femoris muscle group of a healthy individual is recorded while walking on a treadmill at a constant speed, with and without the soft device. Preliminary testing presents a promising 7% reduction in muscle activity and demonstrates the applicability of the soft-inflatable exosuit in knee rehabilitation scenarios.
AB - This paper presents the design, development and preliminary evaluation of a soft-inflatable exosuit for knee rehabilitation. Soft-inflatable actuators made of heat-sealable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials are fabricated in two different beam-like structures (I and O cross-section actuators) and mechanically characterized for their torque performance in knee-extension assistance. The fabrication procedure of both types of actuators is presented as well as their integration into a lightweight, low-cost and body-conforming interface. To detect the activation duration of the device during the gait cycle, a soft-silicone insole with embedded force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) is used. In evaluation studies, the soft-inflatable exosuit device is tested for its ability to reduce muscle activity during the swing phase of the knee. Using sEMG (surface electromyography) sensors, the rectus femoris muscle group of a healthy individual is recorded while walking on a treadmill at a constant speed, with and without the soft device. Preliminary testing presents a promising 7% reduction in muscle activity and demonstrates the applicability of the soft-inflatable exosuit in knee rehabilitation scenarios.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041955339&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85041955339&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/IROS.2017.8206220
DO - 10.1109/IROS.2017.8206220
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85041955339
T3 - IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
SP - 3722
EP - 3727
BT - IROS 2017 - IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2017
Y2 - 24 September 2017 through 28 September 2017
ER -