Your doctor can explain how this news impacts the exosuits that are being used in their stroke department. Ask if soft exosuits have different effects.
Physical interface dynamics alter how robotic exosuits augment human movement: implications for optimizing wearable assistive devices
- Matthew B. YandellEmail author,
- Brendan T. Quinlivan,
- Dmitry Popov,
- Conor Walsh and
- Karl E. Zelik
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation201714:40
DOI: 10.1186/s12984-017-0247-9
© The Author(s). 2017
Received: 11 February 2017
Accepted: 21 April 2017
Published: 18 May 2017
Abstract
Background
Wearable assistive devices
have demonstrated the potential to improve mobility outcomes for
individuals with disabilities, and to augment healthy human performance;
however, these benefits depend on how effectively power is transmitted
from the device to the human user. Quantifying and understanding this
power transmission is challenging due to complex human-device interface
dynamics that occur as biological tissues and physical interface
materials deform and displace under load, absorbing and returning power.
Methods
Here we introduce a new
methodology for quickly estimating interface power dynamics during
movement tasks using common motion capture and force measurements, and
then apply this method to quantify how a soft robotic ankle exosuit
interacts with and transfers power to the human body during walking. We
partition exosuit end-effector power (i.e., power output from the
device) into power that augments ankle plantarflexion (termed
augmentation power) vs. power that goes into deformation and motion of
interface materials and underlying soft tissues (termed interface
power).
Results
We provide empirical evidence
of how human-exosuit interfaces absorb and return energy, reshaping
exosuit-to-human power flow and resulting in three key consequences: (i)
During exosuit loading (as applied forces increased), about 55% of
exosuit end-effector power was absorbed into the interfaces. (ii)
However, during subsequent exosuit unloading (as applied forces
decreased) most of the absorbed interface power was returned
viscoelastically. Consequently, the majority (about 75%) of exosuit
end-effector work over each stride contributed to augmenting ankle
plantarflexion. (iii) Ankle augmentation power (and work) was delayed
relative to exosuit end-effector power, due to these interface energy
absorption and return dynamics.
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