The Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University of Science, Sapporo 006-8585, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 6;19(15):9713. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159713.
This study aimed to clarify how the power-assist function of the hybrid assistive limb (HAL), an exoskeleton-type gait-assist device, affected the gait characteristics of patients who wear it, specifically focusing on the "misalignment" of the robot joints and landmarks with the corresponding body parts. Five healthy adult men were video-recorded wearing the HAL as they walked normally on a treadmill under seven conditions corresponding to the strengths and sites of robotic power assistance. For kinematic analysis, reflective markers were attached to the HAL and the wearer at key locations, and participants were recorded walking past a set of four video cameras for each condition. A motion analysis system was used for analysis. The walking motion was segmented into eight-phase gait cycles. Knee misalignment, or the relative offset in position of the HAL/wearer knee joints, was calculated from kinematic data and joint angles. These values were compared with respect to two factors: assist level and gait phase. Statistical analysis consisted of parametric and nonparametric tests for comparing the values of misalignment of each gait phase, followed by multiple comparisons to confirm significant differences. The results showed that the knee misalignment was greatest in the pre-swing phase and was significantly lower overall in conditions with high levels of power assistance. The result of greater knee misalignment in the pre-swing phase may be attributed to the structural properties of the HAL lower-limb exoskeleton. This provides valuable insight regarding the walking stages that should be given special attention during the evaluation of synchrony between exoskeleton-type gait-assist robots and their wearers.
本研究旨在阐明混合辅助肢体（HAL）的助力功能，一种外骨骼式步态辅助装置，如何影响佩戴者的步态特征，特别是关注机器人关节和地标与相应身体部位的“错位”。5 名健康成年男性在跑步机上正常行走时佩戴 HAL，记录了七种机器人辅助力量的强度和位置对应的七种情况。对于运动学分析，在 HAL 和佩戴者的关键位置贴上反光标记，并为每个条件拍摄一组四台摄像机的视频。使用运动分析系统进行分析。行走运动被分为八个阶段的步态周期。从运动学数据和关节角度计算 HAL/佩戴者膝关节的错位，即膝关节的错位。这些值与两个因素有关：辅助水平和步态阶段。统计分析包括比较每个步态阶段的错位值的参数和非参数检验，然后进行多次比较以确认显著差异。结果表明，在预摆阶段，膝关节的错位最大，在高辅助水平的情况下总体上要低得多。在预摆阶段膝关节错位更大的结果可能归因于 HAL 下肢外骨骼的结构特性。这为评估外骨骼式步态辅助机器人与其佩戴者之间的同步性时应特别注意的行走阶段提供了有价值的见解。
