Neural Rehabilitation Group of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia (DIMI), Brescia, Italy.
J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2023 May 31;20(1):68. doi: 10.1186/s12984-023-01191-y.
Exoskeletons are becoming the reference technology for assistance and augmentation of human motor functions in a wide range of application domains. Unfortunately, the exponential growth of this sector has not been accompanied by a rigorous risk assessment (RA) process, which is necessary to identify the major aspects concerning the safety and impact of this new technology on humans. This situation may seriously hamper the market uptake of new products. This paper presents the results of a survey that was circulated to understand how hazards are considered by exoskeleton users, from research and industry perspectives. Our analysis aimed to identify the perceived occurrence and the impact of a sample of generic hazards, as well as to collect suggestions and general opinions from the respondents that can serve as a reference for more targeted RA. Our results identified a list of relevant hazards for exoskeletons. Among them, misalignments and unintended device motion were perceived as key aspects for exoskeletons' safety. This survey aims to represent a first attempt in recording overall feedback from the community and contribute to future RAs and the identification of better mitigation strategies in the field.
外骨骼在众多应用领域正逐渐成为辅助和增强人体运动功能的参考技术。不幸的是，该领域的指数级增长并未伴随严格的风险评估（RA）过程，而这对于识别与这项新技术的安全性和对人类的影响相关的主要方面是必要的。这种情况可能会严重阻碍新产品的市场采用。本文介绍了一项调查的结果，该调查旨在从研究和行业的角度了解外骨骼使用者如何考虑危害。我们的分析旨在确定样本通用危害的感知发生和影响，并从受访者那里收集建议和一般意见，作为更有针对性的 RA 的参考。我们的结果确定了一组与外骨骼相关的相关危害。其中，错位和意外的设备运动被认为是外骨骼安全的关键方面。这项调查旨在代表社区的整体反馈的首次尝试，并为未来的 RA 和该领域更好的缓解策略的确定做出贡献。
