A Semi-Wearable Robotic Device for Sit-to-Stand Assistance.

Abstract

With the aging of the population in the United States, an increasing number of individuals suffer from mobility challenges. For such individuals, the difficulty of standing up from a seated position is a major barrier for their daily physical activities. In the paper, a novel assistive device, namely Semi-Wearable Sit-to-Stand Assist (SW-SiStA), is presented, which provides effective lower-limb assistance to overcome such difficulty for the mobility-challenged individuals. Unlike traditional exoskeletons, the SW-SiStA can be easily detached after the completion of the sit-to-stand process, and thus will not cause additional burden to the user during the subsequent ambulation. The SW-SiStA is powered with a pneumatic actuator, leverage its advantages of low cost and high power/force density. The complexity of the device is reduced by the use of a simple solenoid valve in combination with two adjustable needle valves, providing the desired individualized adjustability without the expensive proportional valves. Human testing of the device indicated that the SW-SiStA was able to provide effective sit-to-stand assistance in a natural way, and the users were able to expend significantly less muscle efforts in the process.