Gait support for complete spinal cord injury patient by synchronized leg-swing with HAL

Abstract

Biped walking improves the circulation of blood as well as bone density of the lower limbs, thereby enhancing the quality of life (QOL). It is significant not only to healthy people but also to physically challenged persons such as complete spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. The purpose of this paper is to propose an estimation algorithm that infers the intention related to the forward leg-swing in order to support the gait for complete SCI patients wearing an exoskeleton system called a Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL), and to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm through a clinical trial. The proposed algorithm infers the patient's intention in synchronization with the deviation of the center of the ground reaction force (CoGRF) that is observed immediately before a person starts walking. The patient conveys this intention by inducing the deviation of the CoGRF, using crutches or handrails with both of his/her arms. In the clinical trial, we confirmed that the algorithm inferred the patient's intention to swing the leg forward, and achieved a smooth gait in synchronization with it. As a result, the gait speed and cadence of the SCI patient with HAL during the 10-meter walking test increased to 6.67 [m/min] and 20 [steps/min], respectively after several trials.