Auberger Roland, Riener Robert, Russold Michael Friedrich, Dietl Hans
IEEE Int Conf Rehabil Robot. 2019 Jun;2019:938-943. doi: 10.1109/ICORR.2019.8779491.
For patients with lower limb paralysis, wearable robotic systems are becoming increasingly important for regaining mobility. The actuation of these systems is challenging because of the necessity to deliver high power within very limited space. However, not all patients need full support, as many patients have residual muscle function that can be applied for locomotion. This work introduces a microprocessor-controlled leg (hip-knee-ankle-foot) orthosis (mpLeg) with energy recuperation capabilities at the hip joint. The system redistributes motion energy generated by the patient during walking. In stance phase of walking, energy is stored in an elastic element at the hip joint. This energy can be released by computer control later in the gait phase, to support swing phase motion. This work aims at investigating the influence of the elastic element in the orthotic hip joint on a patient's motion. Experiments conducted with a patient suffering from incomplete paraplegia demonstrated that the motion pattern during walking improved with activated energy recuperation. This observation was made over a wide range of system parameters. The patient used the energy recuperation capabilities of the mpLeg with up to 4.1 J recuperated energy per step, which resulted in a more natural swing phase motion during walking. Therefore energy recuperation at the hip joint is a feasible technology for future supportive devices.
对于下肢瘫痪患者而言，可穿戴机器人系统在恢复行动能力方面正变得愈发重要。由于需要在非常有限的空间内提供高功率，这些系统的驱动颇具挑战性。然而，并非所有患者都需要完全的支撑，因为许多患者仍有可用于行走的残余肌肉功能。这项工作介绍了一种微处理器控制的腿部（髋-膝-踝-足）矫形器（mpLeg），其在髋关节处具备能量回收能力。该系统可重新分配患者行走过程中产生的运动能量。在步行的支撑阶段，能量存储在髋关节处的弹性元件中。此能量可在步态后期通过计算机控制释放，以支持摆动阶段的运动。这项工作旨在研究矫形髋关节中的弹性元件对患者运动的影响。对一名不完全性截瘫患者进行的实验表明，激活能量回收后，步行过程中的运动模式得到改善。这一观察结果在广泛的系统参数范围内均成立。该患者使用mpLeg的能量回收功能，每步可回收高达4.1焦耳的能量，这使得步行过程中的摆动阶段运动更加自然。因此，髋关节处的能量回收是未来辅助设备的一项可行技术。
