Abstract
This paper introduces a newly developed robotic gait training system for lower-limb rehabilitation of stroke patients. The system (Cyborg-Trainer L; Cyborg-Lab Co., Korea) provides a stair-climbing mode in addition to the conventional level-walking mode by leveraging a unique exoskeleton structure with separately operable foot plates. Unlike conventional end-effector type gait training robots, the subject’s feet are not constrained by foot plates, but are free to emulate the ground or a set of stairs. The ground reaction force is measured by force sensors in the foot plates and utilized to compensate for the vertical movement of pelvis. The exoskeleton structures are connected at hip, knee, and ankle joints, and these can support a patient’s weight to ensure a normal gait pattern. The system has four control modes with different levels of assistive or resistance force. To show the feasibility of the developed training mode, a series of experiments measuring muscle activity were conducted during 1) level-walking with the robot, 2) level-walking on a treadmill without a robot, 3) stair-climbing with the robot, and 4) actual stairclimbing without a robot. The muscle activation from the rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius medialis of the dominant leg of five healthy adults were measured and analyzed. Results showed that all muscles had a rhythmic muscle activation pattern. Even though muscle activation patterns were different between gaits using the robotic gait system and those not using it, reduced amplitudes and phasic muscle activations were observed during the training in the robotic system. The developed system is a new type of robotic gait training system that could induce phasic lower limb muscle activation patterns, and its clinical efficacy will be validated in clinical trials after regulatory approval.
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Recommended by Guest Editor Doo Yong Lee (KAIST). This study was jointly supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (HI17C2410), Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (No. 17172MFDS370), and a grant of the Asan Institute for Life Sciences intramural research project funded by Asan Medical Center (2018-801).
EunKyung Bae is in a Ph.D. course in Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Korea. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Yonsei University, Korea. Her current research interests include analyze bio-signal and design the rehabilitation training system and medical training simulation system in virtual reality.
Sang-Eun Park is a researcher in biomedical engineering research center, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Konkuk University, Korea. Her current research interests include analyze bio-signal and design the rehabilitation training system.
Youngjin Moon received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in control and mechanical engineering and mechanical and precision engineering from Pusan National University, Busan, Korea, in 1996 and 1996, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, in 2011. He is with Asan Medical Center and University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea as a Research Assistant Professor. His research interests include design and analysis of kinematic mechanisms, and robotic systems with medical purpose such as surgery, intervention, and rehabilitation.
In Taek Chun received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from KAIST, Korea, in 1989. He is currently the CEO and a research engineer of Cyborg-lab Co., Ltd. His research interests include design, control, analysis of kinematic mechanisms and robots for medical application and collaborative robot.
Min Ho Chun received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Medical College from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1982, 1986, and 2003, respectively. He is currently a Professor of Dept. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, and at the Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul. His research interests include physical medicine and rehabilitation in brain injury such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumor.
Jaesoon Choi received his B.S. degree in control and instrumentation engineering and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1995, 1997, and 2003, respectively. He had predoctoral training at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA, from 1999 to 2000. From 2003 to 2006, he had postdoctoral training and worked as a Staff Researcher at Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Seoul. From 2007 to 2012, he was a Research Professor at Korea Artificial Organ Center, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, Seoul. His research interests include computer-aided surgery and intervention and mechatronics system application in biomedicine.
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Bae, E., Park, SE., Moon, Y. et al. A Robotic Gait Training System with Stair-climbing Mode Based on a Unique Exoskeleton Structure with Active Foot Plates. Int. J. Control Autom. Syst. 18, 196–205 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-019-0260-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-019-0260-9