Ray Nicole T, Knarr Brian A, Higginson Jill S
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States.
Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, United States.
J Biomech. 2018 Sep 10;78:143-149. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.07.035. Epub 2018 Jul 29.
Implementing user-driven treadmill control in gait training programs for rehabilitation may be an effective means of enhancing motor learning and improving functional performance. This study aimed to determine the effect of a user-driven treadmill control scheme on walking speeds, anterior ground reaction forces (AGRF), and trailing limb angles (TLA) of healthy adults. Twenty-three participants completed a 10-m overground walking task to measure their overground self-selected (SS) walking speeds. Then, they walked at their SS and fastest comfortable walking speeds on an instrumented split-belt treadmill in its fixed speed and user-driven control modes. The user-driven treadmill controller combined inertial-force, gait parameter, and position based control to adjust the treadmill belt speed in real time. Walking speeds, peak AGRF, and TLA were compared among test conditions using paired t-tests (α = 0.05). Participants chose significantly faster SS and fast walking speeds in the user-driven mode than the fixed speed mode (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the overground SS walking speed and the SS speed from the user-driven trials (p < 0.05). Changes in AGRF and TLA were caused primarily by changes in walking speed, not the treadmill controller. Our findings show the user-driven treadmill controller allowed participants to select walking speeds faster than their chosen speeds on the fixed speed treadmill and similar to their overground speeds. Since user-driven treadmill walking increases cognitive activity and natural mobility, these results suggest user-driven treadmill control would be a beneficial addition to current gait training programs for rehabilitation.
在康复步态训练项目中实施用户驱动的跑步机控制可能是增强运动学习和改善功能表现的有效手段。本研究旨在确定用户驱动的跑步机控制方案对健康成年人步行速度、前向地面反作用力（AGRF）和后肢角度（TLA）的影响。23名参与者完成了一项10米的地面行走任务，以测量他们的地面自选（SS）步行速度。然后，他们在一台装有仪器的分体式跑步机上，以其自选速度和最快舒适步行速度，分别在固定速度和用户驱动控制模式下行走。用户驱动的跑步机控制器结合了惯性力、步态参数和基于位置的控制，以实时调整跑步机皮带速度。使用配对t检验（α = 0.05）比较测试条件下的步行速度、AGRF峰值和TLA。参与者在用户驱动模式下选择的自选速度和快速步行速度明显快于固定速度模式（p > 0.05）。地面自选步行速度与用户驱动试验中的自选速度之间没有显著差异（p < 0.05）。AGRF和TLA的变化主要是由步行速度的变化引起的，而不是跑步机控制器。我们的研究结果表明，用户驱动的跑步机控制器使参与者能够选择比在固定速度跑步机上更快的步行速度，且与他们的地面速度相似。由于用户驱动的跑步机行走增加了认知活动和自然移动性，这些结果表明用户驱动的跑步机控制将是当前康复步态训练项目的有益补充。
