Garcia Gabriela, Yañez Rafaella, Espoz Milena, Albuja Camilo, Arauz Paul G, Martin Bernard J
Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador.
Department of Orthopaedics, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, New York, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 3;20(6):e0325230. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325230. eCollection 2025.
This study assessed the effects of a passive upper-body exoskeleton (CarrySuit®) on heart rate, muscle activity, and kinematics while carrying 12 kg box on a 12° inclined treadmill.
Various passive exoskeletons designed for commercial use have emerged on the market, aiming to support lifting and carrying tasks. However, their effects on biomechanical metrics while walking on inclined surfaces are not yet conclusive.
Thirty participants carried a 12 kg box with and without the exoskeleton while walking on a treadmill with a 12° incline. Whole-body kinematics, heart rate, and muscle activity in the low back, legs, and arms were evaluated in each condition.
The exoskeleton significantly (p < .05) reduced peak erector spinae, biceps brachii activity, and heart rate across sexes, with medium to large effect sizes (ηp2 > 0.1). A decrease in mean erector spinae activity was observed in males only. However, for all, the exoskeleton increased vastus lateralis activity while reducing gastrocnemius activity, with medium effect sizes (ηp2 = 0.1). Kinematically, it led to increased dorsiflexion and knee flexion, with sex-specific adaptations such as reduced pelvic tilt in males and greater thorax tilt in females, with small to medium effect sizes. It also promoted a more neutral neck posture and altered hip asymmetry patterns.
These findings suggest that the CarrySuit® effectively alters heart rate, muscle activity and joint movements during inclined load-carrying tasks, with more benefits shown for males than females. This research contributes to the scientific understanding of commercial exoskeleton technology's efficacy in carrying tasks.
本研究评估了被动式上身外骨骼（CarrySuit®）在12°倾斜跑步机上搬运12公斤箱子时对心率、肌肉活动和运动学的影响。
市场上出现了各种为商业用途设计的被动式外骨骼，旨在辅助搬运任务。然而，它们在倾斜表面行走时对生物力学指标的影响尚无定论。
30名参与者在12°倾斜的跑步机上行走时，分别在有和没有外骨骼的情况下搬运12公斤的箱子。对每种情况下的全身运动学、心率以及下背部、腿部和手臂的肌肉活动进行评估。
外骨骼显著（p < 0.05）降低了竖脊肌、肱二头肌的峰值活动以及男女的心率，效应量为中到大（ηp2 > 0.1）。仅在男性中观察到竖脊肌平均活动的下降。然而，对所有人来说，外骨骼增加了股外侧肌的活动，同时降低了腓肠肌的活动，效应量为中等（ηp2 = 0.1）。在运动学方面，它导致背屈和膝关节屈曲增加，存在性别特异性适应性变化，如男性骨盆倾斜度降低，女性胸廓倾斜度增加，效应量为小到中等。它还促进了更中立的颈部姿势并改变了髋关节不对称模式。
这些发现表明，CarrySuit®在倾斜负重任务中有效地改变了心率、肌肉活动和关节运动，男性比女性受益更多。这项研究有助于科学理解商业外骨骼技术在搬运任务中的功效。
