Abstract
The muscles of the lower limbs directly influence leg motion, therefore, lower limb muscle exercise is important for persons living with lower limb disabilities. This paper presents a medical assistive robot with leg exoskeletons for locomotion and leg muscle exercises. It also presents a novel pedal-cycling actuation method with a crank-rocker mechanism. The mechanism is driven by a single motor with a mechanical structure that ensures user safety. A control system is designed based on a master-slave control with sensor fusion method. Here, the intended motion of the user is detected by pedal-based force sensors and is then used in combination with joystick movements as control signals for leg-exoskeleton and wheelchair motions. Experimental data is presented and then analyzed to determine robotic motion characteristics as well as the assistance efficiency with attached electromyogram (EMG) sensors. A typical muscle EMG signal analysis shows that the exercise efficiency for EMG activated amplitudes of the gluteus medius muscles approximates a walking at speed of 3 m/s when cycling at different speeds (i.e., from 16 to 80 r/min) in a wheelchair. As such, the present wheelchair robot is a good candidate for enabling effective gluteus medius muscle exercises for persons living with gluteus medius muscle disabilities.
Highlights
People and stroke patients with hemiplegia often suffer from muscle weakness and gait disorders [1], which can result in a significant burden to their families and society in general.The number of lower limb disabilities due to old age or stroke hemiplegia is gradually increasing [2].muscle atrophy that results from prolonged periods of muscle inactivity can adversely affect general health and even lead to amputation [3]
This paper investigates the main deficiencies of the original design presents an improved mechanical design and control system to deliver better operational experience for the user
This paper presents a mechanical design and control method for an assistive wheelchair robot that promotes locomotion and exercises the gluteus medius muscles using a wheelchair with attached exoskeletons
Summary
People and stroke patients with hemiplegia often suffer from muscle weakness and gait disorders [1], which can result in a significant burden to their families and society in general. These devices provide passive, motor-assisted or active-passive motions to users through training modes that are selected based on muscle strength [17]. These devices are especially suitable for people with limited mobility and those who are ‘wheelchair-bound’ [18]. Previous work proposed a leg exoskeleton cycling-actuated wheelchair robot with a master-slave control to provide locomotion and rehabilitation functions [32,33,34,35,36] using a crank-rocker mechanism. The results show that the proposed wheelchair robot is a viable healthcare mechatronic intervention for locations with sufficient space to operate the exercise device and that it is suitable for lower limb exercise and assistive locomotion devices. The conclusion is presented along with an outline for future work to optimize the present locomotion and rehabilitation exercise method
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