The gravity balancing exoskeleton, designed at University of Delaware, Newark, consists of rigid links, joints and springs, which are adjustable to the geometry and inertia of the leg of a human subject wearing it. This passive exoskeleton does not use any motors but is designed to unload the human leg joints from the gravity load over its range-of-motion. The underlying principle of gravity balancing is to make the potential energy of the combined leg-machine system invariant with configuration of the leg. Additionally, parameters of the exoskeleton can be changed to achieve a prescribed level of gravity assistance, from 0% to 100%. The goal of the results reported in this paper is to provide preliminary quantitative assessment of the changes in kinematics and kinetics of the walking gait when a human subject wears such an exoskeleton. The data on kinematics and kinetics were collected on four healthy and three stroke patients who wore this exoskeleton. These data were computed from the joint encoders and interface torque sensors mounted on the exoskeleton. This exoskeleton was also recently used for a six-week training of a chronic stroke patient, where the gravity assistance was progressively reduced from 100% to 0%. The results show a significant improvement in gait of the stroke patient in terms of range-of-motion of the hip and knee, weight bearing on the hemiparetic leg, and speed of walking. Currently, training studies are underway to assess the long-term effects of such a device on gait rehabilitation of hemiparetic stroke patients.

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This paper introduces a newly developed gait rehabilitation device. The device, called LOPES, combines a freely translatable and 2-D-actuated pelvis segment with a leg exoskeleton containing three actuated rotational joints: two at the hip and one at the knee. The joints are impedance controlled to allow bidirectional mechanical interaction between the robot and the training subject. Evaluation measurements show that the device allows both a «patient-in-charge» and «robot-in-charge» mode, in which the robot is controlled either to follow or to guide a patient, respectively. Electromyography (EMG) measurements (one subject) on eight important leg muscles, show that free walking in the device strongly resembles free treadmill walking; an indication that the device can offer task-specific gait training. The possibilities and limitations to using the device as gait measurement tool are also shown at the moment position measurements are not accurate enough for inverse-dynamical gait analysis.

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Exoskeletons are mechatronic systems worn by a person in such a way that the physical interface permits a direct transfer of mechanical power and exchange of information. Upper limb robotic exoskeletons may be helpful for people with disabilities and/or limb weakness or injury. Tremor is the most common movement disorder in neurological practice. In addition to medication, rehabilitation programs, and deep brain stimulation, biomechanical loading has appeared as a potential tremor suppression alternative. This paper introduces the robotic exoskeleton called WOTAS (wearable orthosis for tremor assessment and suppression) that provides a means of testing and validating nongrounded control strategies for orthotic tremor suppression. This paper describes in detail the general concept for WOTAS, outlining the special features of the design and selection of system components. Two control strategies developed for tremor suppression with exoskeletons are described. These two strategies are based on biomechanical loading and notch Altering the tremor through the application of internal forces. Results from experiments using these two strategies on patients with tremor are summarized. Finally, results from clinical trials are presented, which indicate the feasibility of ambulatory mechanical suppression of tremor.

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