Simulation and design of an active orthosis for an incomplete spinal cord injured subject

Abstract

Postprint (published version

Dynamical analysis and design of active orthoses for spinal cord injured subjects by aesthetic and energetic optimization

“…Those are classified by the ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) and range from A (complete SCI) to E (normal motor and sensory function). The active orthosis that is considered in this paper is aimed at assisting incomplete SCI subjects with AIS level C or D [14]. These levels represent incomplete spinal cord injuries.…”

“…1, includes the following modifications with respect to the current passive devices: a) actuation at the knee joint is added because the considered subjects do not have enough muscle force to flex and extend the lower limb during the swing phase; b) additional sensors are included to better control the knee-locking system and actuation [14]; and c) the standard Klenzak joint is slightly modified including an optical incremental encoder for control purposes. The knee joint incorporates two powered systems acting in parallel: a locking system which locks the knee during stance phase, and an actuation system which is active during swing.…”

“…This device permits free knee motion during swing and locks the knee flexion during stance phase. Font-Llagunes et al [14] developed a robotic SCKAFO with two parallel systems actuating the knee joint: a controllable shape-locking mechanism "Neuro Tronic" and an electrical actuation system (DC motor plus a planetary gearbox) to assist knee flexion-extension during swing. The prototype is equipped with plantar pressure sensors and joint encoders.…”

“…Denervation of muscle groups caused by the SCI is parameterized to account for different severities of the SCI. The active orthoses are modelled as external devices attached to the legs, and their dynamic and performance parameters are taken from a real prototype presented in [14]. We believe that the presented dynamic simulation methodology could be of great help to computationally predict the subject-orthoses cooperation and resulting gait, and thus, to assist the design of patient-tailored neurorehabilitation devices.…”

A Neuromotor Device for Reducing Phantom Limb Pain in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

“…Chu et al [10] proposed a hydraulically driven lowerlimb exoskeleton driving the hip, knee, and ankle joints to compensate for the strength and endurance of a human under a payload. Lugris et al [11] presented an active stance-control knee-ankle-foot orthosis. Cui et al [12] proposed a one active degree-of-freedom closed-loop compliant exoskeleton to enable humans to carry loads during long distance steady locomotion.…”