Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics, High Performance Humanoid Technologies (H2T), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Mar 10;23(6):3032. doi: 10.3390/s23063032.
Exoskeletons are a promising tool to support individuals with a decreased level of motor performance. Due to their built-in sensors, exoskeletons offer the possibility of continuously recording and assessing user data, for example, related to motor performance. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of studies that rely on using exoskeletons to measure motor performance. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review, following the PRISMA Statement guidelines. A total of 49 studies using lower limb exoskeletons for the assessment of human motor performance were included. Of these, 19 studies were validity studies, and six were reliability studies. We found 33 different exoskeletons; seven can be considered stationary, and 26 were mobile exoskeletons. The majority of the studies measured parameters such as range of motion, muscle strength, gait parameters, spasticity, and proprioception. We conclude that exoskeletons can be used to measure a wide range of motor performance parameters through built-in sensors, and seem to be more objective and specific than manual test procedures. However, since these parameters are usually estimated from built-in sensor data, the quality and specificity of an exoskeleton to assess certain motor performance parameters must be examined before an exoskeleton can be used, for example, in a research or clinical setting.
外骨骼是一种很有前途的工具,可以帮助运动能力下降的个体。由于内置的传感器,外骨骼可以连续记录和评估用户数据,例如与运动表现相关的数据。本文旨在概述依赖外骨骼来测量运动表现的研究。因此,我们按照 PRISMA 声明指南进行了系统的文献回顾。共纳入了 49 项使用下肢外骨骼评估人体运动表现的研究。其中,19 项为有效性研究,6 项为可靠性研究。我们发现了 33 种不同的外骨骼;其中 7 种可以被认为是固定的,26 种是移动的外骨骼。大多数研究测量的参数包括运动范围、肌肉力量、步态参数、痉挛和本体感觉。我们得出的结论是,外骨骼可以通过内置传感器来测量广泛的运动表现参数,并且似乎比手动测试程序更客观、更具体。然而,由于这些参数通常是根据内置传感器数据估计的,因此在将外骨骼用于研究或临床环境之前,必须检查外骨骼评估某些运动表现参数的质量和特异性。