Many of the current implementations of exoskeletons for the lower extremities are conceived to either augment the user’s load-carrying capabilities or reduce muscle activation during walking. Comparatively little research has been conducted on enabling an exoskeleton to increase the agility of lower-limb movements. One obstacle in this regard is the inertia of the exoskeleton’s mechanism, which...

To get a compliant active exoskeleton controller, the force interaction controllers are mostly used in form of either the impedance or admittance controllers. The impedance or admittance controllers can only work if they are followed by either the force or the position controller respectively. These combinations place the impedance or admittance controller as high-level controller while the for...

This paper illustrates the application of emerging technologies and human-machine interfaces to the neurorehabilitation and motor assistance fields. The contribution focuses on wearable technologies and in particular on robotic exoskeleton as tools for increasing freedom to move and performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This would result in a deep improvement in quality of life, also in...

We asked whether coordinated voluntary movement of the lower limbs could be regained in an individual having been completely paralyzed (>4 year) and completely absent of vision (>15 year) using two novel strategies-transcutaneous electrical spinal cord stimulation at selected sites over the spine as well as pharmacological neuromodulation by buspirone. We also asked whether these neuromodulator...

A lower limb assistive exoskeleton is designed to help operators walk or carry payloads. The exoskeleton is required to shadow human motion intent accurately and compliantly to prevent incoordination. If the user's intention is estimated accurately, a precise position control strategy will improve collaboration between the user and the exoskeleton. In this paper, a hybrid position control schem...

Cuticular chitin synthase and chitinase mRNA of whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei during the molting cycle a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Chitin metabolism is of high relevance for shrimp growth because it has to be synthesized and cleaved in each molt. We studied chitin synthase and chitinase mRNAs from whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. For this, cDNA coding for cuticular chitin ...

Individuals with tetraplegia have loss of motor function in both their upper and lower extremities. Research is being conducted into the development of an exoskeleton to cater for the tetraplegic user. An exoskeleton system has the advantage of assisting disabled or rehabilitating patients without the need of surgery. This paper includes the conceptual design of an upper and lower limb exoskele...

Study Design Systematic review. Clinical Questions (1) When used as an assistive device, do wearable exoskeletons improve lower extremity function or gait compared with knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) in patients with complete or incomplete spinal cord injury? (2) When used as a rehabilitation device, do wearable exoskeletons improve lower extremity function or gait compared with other rehabil...

The control objective of exoskeleton for human performance augmentation is to minimize the human machine interaction force while carrying external loads and following human motion. This paper addresses the dynamics and the interaction force control of a 1-DOF hydraulically actuated joint exoskeleton. A spring with unknown stiffness is used to model the humanmachine interface. A cascade force co...

A total of 394 (255 males,139 females) live freshwater crayfish Astacus leptodactylus from four stations of Aras reservoir in West Azarbaijan Province (North-Western Iran) were studied during the winter until early autumn of 2009 for the presence of parasites, Epibionts and Fungal agents. Parasitological surveys were carried out on gills exoskeleton and internal organs, mycological examinations...