IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2017 Sep;25(9):1549-1557. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2017.2664801. Epub 2017 Feb 6.
The aims of this paper were to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed wearable hip assist robot, that uses an active assist algorithm to improve gait function, muscle effort, and cardiopulmonary metabolic efficiency in elderly adults. Thirty elderly adults (15 males/ 15 females) participated in thispaper. The experimental protocol consisted of overground gait at comfortable speed under three different conditions: free gait without robot assistance, robot-assisted gait with zero torque (RAG-Z), and full RAG. Under all conditions, muscle effort was analyzed using a 12-channel surface electromyography system. Spatio-temporal data were collected at 120 Hz using a 3-D motion capture system with six infrared cameras. Metabolic cost parameters were collected as oxygen consumption per unit (ml/min/kg) and aerobic energy expenditure (Kcal/min). In the RAG condition, participants demonstrated improved gait function, decreased muscle effort, and reduced metabolic cost. Although the hip assist robot only provides assistance at the hip joint, our results demonstrated a clear reduction in knee and ankle muscle activity in addition to decreased hip flexor and extensor activity. Our findings suggest that this robot has the potential to improve stabilization of the trunk during walking in elderly adults.
本文旨在研究一种新研发的可穿戴式髋关节辅助机器人的有效性。该机器人采用主动辅助算法，旨在改善老年人的步态功能、肌肉用力和心肺代谢效率。本研究共有 30 名老年人（男性 15 名/女性 15 名）参与。实验方案包括在三种不同条件下进行舒适速度的地面行走：无机器人辅助的自由行走、零扭矩的机器人辅助行走（RAG-Z）和全 RAG。在所有条件下，均使用 12 通道表面肌电图系统分析肌肉用力情况。使用带有 6 个红外摄像机的 3D 运动捕捉系统以 120Hz 的频率采集时空数据。代谢成本参数以单位耗氧量（ml/min/kg）和有氧能量消耗（Kcal/min）进行收集。在 RAG 条件下，参与者表现出改善的步态功能、减少的肌肉用力和降低的代谢成本。尽管髋关节辅助机器人仅在髋关节提供辅助，但我们的结果表明，除了髋关节屈肌和伸肌活动减少外，还明显降低了膝关节和踝关节的肌肉活动。我们的研究结果表明，该机器人有可能改善老年人行走时躯干的稳定性。
