IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2022 Mar;69(3):1141-1150. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2021.3114737. Epub 2022 Feb 18.
This paper aims to analyse the human musculoskeletal and energetic adaptation mechanisms when physically interacting with a unilateral knee orthosis during treadmill walking.
Test subjects participated in two walking trials, whereby the orthosis was controlled to deliver five predefined torque profiles of different duration (as % of a gait cycle). The adaptations to assistive torques of different duration were analysed in terms of gait parameters, metabolic effort, and muscle activity.
Orthotic assistance's kinematic effects remain local to the assisted leg and joint, unlike the muscles spanning the knee joint, which engage in a balancing-out action to retain stability. Duration of assistive torque significantly affects only the timing of the knee joint's peak flexion angle in the stance phase, while the observed joint kinematics and muscle activity demonstrate different recovery times upon changing robotic support (washout effects).
Human body adaptations to external robotic knee joint assistance during walking take place on multiple levels and to a different extent in a joint effort to keep the gait stable.
This paper provides important insights into the human body's multiple adaptation mechanisms in the presence of external robotic assistance.
本文旨在分析人体在使用单膝矫形器进行跑步机行走时的肌肉骨骼和能量适应机制。
测试对象参与了两项行走试验，其中矫形器被控制以提供五个不同持续时间（占步态周期的百分比）的预设扭矩曲线。根据步态参数、代谢努力和肌肉活动分析了不同持续时间的辅助扭矩的适应情况。
与跨越膝关节的肌肉不同，矫形辅助的运动学效应仅局限于辅助腿和关节，后者会进行平衡动作以保持稳定性。辅助扭矩的持续时间仅显著影响站立阶段膝关节最大屈曲角度的时间，而观察到的关节运动学和肌肉活动在改变机器人支撑时（冲洗效应）表现出不同的恢复时间。
人体在行走过程中对外部机器人膝关节辅助的适应发生在多个层面，并以不同的程度共同努力保持步态稳定。
本文为人体在存在外部机器人辅助时的多种适应机制提供了重要的见解。
