Zhang Jiefu, Divekar Nikhil V, Hinojosa Ernesto Hernandez, Gregg Robert D
IEEE Int Conf Rehabil Robot. 2025 May;2025:1299-1306. doi: 10.1109/ICORR66766.2025.11063157.
Hip osteoarthritis (OA) affects millions worldwide, yet effective conservative (non-surgical) treatments are still limited. Conventional hip braces cannot reduce painful joint loads associated with contractile forces from flexors and extensors during locomotion. Powered hip exoskeletons could potentially reduce biological hip moments by applying flexion/extension torques, thus attenuating muscle forces that contribute to OA pain. Here, we present a novel task-agnostic controller for a backdrivable hip exoskeleton that relieves hip O A pain across the primary activities of daily life. Inspired by the energy shaping method, this controller utilizes biomechanicsbased components to assist with level walking, ramp and stairs ascent/descent, and sit-to-stand transitions, which can be customized to different populations, like hip OA. In a pilot study with three hip OA participants, the hip exoskeleton holistically reduced pain and perceived difficulty during a multi-activity test (except difficulty of level walking). The exoskeleton also increased hip range of motion during walking, with subject-specific improvements in walking speed. This pilot study suggests that hip exoskeletons may offer a promising new intervention for managing hip O A.
髋骨关节炎(OA)在全球影响着数百万人,但有效的保守(非手术)治疗仍然有限。传统的髋部支具无法减少与运动过程中屈肌和伸肌收缩力相关的疼痛关节负荷。动力髋外骨骼有可能通过施加屈伸扭矩来减少生物髋关节力矩,从而减轻导致OA疼痛的肌肉力量。在此,我们提出了一种用于可反向驱动髋外骨骼的新型任务无关控制器,该控制器可在日常生活的主要活动中缓解髋OA疼痛。受能量塑形方法的启发,该控制器利用基于生物力学的组件来辅助水平行走、坡道和楼梯的上升/下降以及从坐起到站立的转换,可针对不同人群(如髋OA患者)进行定制。在一项针对三名髋OA参与者的试点研究中,髋外骨骼在多活动测试期间全面减轻了疼痛并降低了感知难度(水平行走难度除外)。外骨骼还增加了行走过程中髋关节的活动范围,并根据个体情况提高了行走速度。这项试点研究表明,髋外骨骼可能为管理髋OA提供一种有前景的新干预措施。