Yang Jiongzhi, Augenstein Thomas E, Qiu Jiajie, Washabaugh Edward P, Krishnan Chandramouli
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2025 Jan;72(1):198-209. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2024.3444688. Epub 2025 Jan 15.
Eddy current brakes have been recently used for functional resistance training in individuals with neurological and orthopaedic disorders. These devices consist of a gearbox, a conductive disc, and permanent magnets that can be moved relative to the disc to alter resistance. However, current devices use a commercial planetary gearbox with a tall profile that sticks out from the leg, which affects wearability. This is coupled with the large system inertia, which together impedes potential device transition to clinical and in-home use. In this study, we developed a low-profile, pancake-style planetary gearbox that greatly reduces the protrusion of the device from the leg. We performed a design analysis and optimization to minimize the thickness and inertia of the device while ensuring that it could withstand the maximum expected torque (50 Nm). We then performed human subjects experiments to examine the effectiveness of our new design for functional resistance training. The results indicated that all leg muscles showed a significant increase in activation during resisted conditions. There were also significant after-effects on medial hamstring activation. These results indicate that the new design is a feasible method for functional resistance training and may have a potential clinical value in gait rehabilitation.
涡流制动器最近已被用于患有神经和骨科疾病的个体的功能性阻力训练。这些装置由一个齿轮箱、一个导电盘和永久磁铁组成，永久磁铁可相对于盘移动以改变阻力。然而，目前的装置使用的是一种外形较高的商用行星齿轮箱，它从腿部突出，这影响了可穿戴性。这与较大的系统惯性相结合，共同阻碍了该装置向临床和家庭使用的潜在转变。在本研究中，我们开发了一种低剖面的煎饼式行星齿轮箱，可大大减少装置从腿部的突出。我们进行了设计分析和优化，以在确保装置能够承受最大预期扭矩（50牛米）的同时，尽量减小其厚度和惯性。然后，我们进行了人体实验，以检验我们新设计用于功能性阻力训练的有效性。结果表明，在抗阻条件下，所有腿部肌肉的激活都显著增加。对腘绳肌内侧的激活也有显著的后效应。这些结果表明，新设计是一种可行的功能性阻力训练方法，可能在步态康复中具有潜在的临床价值。
