Techniques proposed for assisting locomotion with exoskeletons have often included a combination of active work input and passive torque support, but the physiological effects of different assistance techniques remain unclear. We performed an experiment to study the independent effects of net exoskeleton work and average exoskeleton torque on human locomotion. Subjects wore a unilateral ankle e...

Aiming at the hand rehabilitation of stroke patients, a wearable hand exoskeleton with circuitous joint is proposed. The circuitous joint adopts the symmetric pinion and rack mechanism (SPRM) with the parallel mechanism. The exoskeleton finger is a serial mechanism composed of three closed-chain SPRM joints in series. The kinematic equations of the open chain of the finger and the closed chains...

The design of a wearable robotic exoskeleton needs to consider the interaction, either physical or cognitive, between the human user and the robotic device. This paper presents a method to analyse the interaction between the human user and a unilateral, wearable lower-limb exoskeleton. The lower-limb exoskeleton function was to compénsate for muscle weakness around the kneejoint. It isshown tha...

this paper describes the design and kinematic analysis of a 5 DOF upper limb powered robotic exoskeleton for rehabilitation of the patients who survived stroke and the elderly who do not have enough strength to move their limbs freely. It was observed that the existing upper extremity exoskeletons were bulky and heavy which made them limited to applications and the complexity of the system incr...

New motor rehabilitation therapies include virtual reality (VR) and robotic technologies. In limb rehabilitation, limb posture is required to (1) provide a limb realistic representation in VR games and (2) assess the patient improvement. When exoskeleton devices are used in the therapy, the measurements of their joint angles cannot be directly used to represent the posture of the patient limb, ...

Locomotor adaptation in humans is not well understood. To provide insight into the neural reorganization that occurs following a significant disruption to one's learned neuromuscular map relating a given motor command to its resulting muscular action, we tied the mechanical action of a robotic exoskeleton to the electromyography (EMG) profile of the soleus muscle during walking. The powered exo...

The DD4 mRNA of the penaeid prawn Penaeus japonicus was shown previously to be expressed in the epidermis adjacent to the exoskeleton specifically during the post-moult period, when calcification of the exoskeleton took place. The encoded protein possessed a Ca2+-binding site, suggesting its involvement in the calcification of the exoskeleton. In the present study, an additional ORF (open readi...

gait rehabilitation using body weight support on a treadmill is a recommended rehabilitation technique for neurological injuries, such as spinal cord injury. in this paper, a new robotic orthosis is presented for treadmill training. in the presented design the criteria such as low inertia of robot components, backdrivability, high safety and degrees of freedom based on human walking are conside...

This paper proposes the design of a 4 DOF exoskeleton robotic arm for rehabilitation. This proposed robot arm can be used easily with either the user’s left or right arm. This robot arm is designed to have low inertia, high stiffness link, and zero backlash transmissions. It supports the patient’s arm during rehabilitation which is a repetitive task and takes a period of time. Each joint of thi...

Exoskeletons may form a new strategy to reduce the risk of developing low back pain in stressful jobs. In the present study we examined the potential of a so-called passive exoskeleton on muscle activity, discomfort and endurance time in prolonged forward-bended working postures. Eighteen subjects performed two tasks: a simulated assembly task with the trunk in a forward-bended position and sta...