This paper presents the design and modeling results of an upper extre-mity exoskeleton mounted on a wheel chair. This new device is dedicated to regular and efficient rehabili-tation training for weak and injured people without the continuous presence of a therapist. The exoske-leton being a wearable robotic device attached to the human arm, the user provides information signals to the controller in order to generate the appropriate control signals for different training strategies and paradigms. This upper extremity exoskeleton covers four basic degrees of freedom of the shoulder and the elbow joints with three additional adaptability degrees of freedom in order to match the arm anatomy of different users.

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Категория: Научные статьи | Нет комментариев »

A wearable action-assist device which assists or executes an action of a wearer by substituting for the wearer is provided with an action-assist tool 2 having an actuator 201 which gives power to the wearer 1, a biosignal sensor 221 which detects a wearer’s biosignal, a biosignal processing unit 3 which acquires from a biosignal “a” detected by the biosignal sensor a nerve transfer signal “b” for operating a wearer’s muscular line skeletal system, and a myoelectricity signal “c” accompanied with a wearer’s muscular line activity, an optional control unit 4 which generates a command signal “d” for causing the actuator 201 to generate power according to the wearer’s intention using the nerve transfer signal “b” and the myoelectricity signal “c” acquired by the biosignal processing unit 3, and a driving current generating unit 5 which generates a current according to the nerve transfer signal b and a current according to the myoelectricity signal “c”, respectively, based on the command signal “d” generated by the optional control unit 4, and supplies the currents to the actuator 201.

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Категория: Патенты | 2 комментария »

На Международной выставке роботов (International Robot Exhibition), Лаборатория Кобаяси инженерного факультета Токийского университета Наук представила легкий мышечный костюм (экзоскелет). По своей сути, это робот, который можно одеть и который при помощи пневматических приводов увеличивает силу человека.

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Категория: Muscle Suit 2009 | 3 комментария »

Background: Robot-assisted therapy offers a promising approach to neurorehabilitation, particularly for severely to moderately im-paired stroke patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of intensive arm training on motor performance in four chronic stroke patients using the robot ARMin II. Methods: ARMin II is an exoskeleton robot with six degrees of freedom (DOF) moving shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. Four volunteers with chronic (≥ 12 months post-stroke) left side hemiparesis and dif-ferent levels of motor severity were enrolled in the study. They received robotassisted therapy over a period of eight weeks, three to four therapy sessions per week, each session of one hour. Patients 1 and 4 had four one-hour training sessions per week and patients 2 and 3 had three onehour training sessions per week. Primary outcome variable was the Fugl-Meyer Score of the upper extremity Assessment (FMA), secondary outcomes were the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS), the Maximal Voluntary Torques (MVTs) and a questionnaire about ADL-tasks, progress, changes, motivation etc. Results: Three out of four patients showed significant improvements (p < 0.05) in the main outcome. The improvements in the FMA scores were aligned with the objective results of MVTs. Most improvements were maintained or even increased from discharge to the six-month follow-up. Conclusion: Data clearly indicate that intensive arm therapy with the robot ARMin II can significantly improve motor function of the paretic arm in some stroke patients, even those in a chronic state. The findings of the study provide a basis for a subsequent controlled randomized clinical trial. (далее…)

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The this work deals with neural network-based gait-pattern adaptation algorithms for an active lower limbs orthosis. Stable trajectories are generated during the optimization process, considering a stable trajectory generator based on the Zero Moment Point criterion and the inverse dynamic model. Additionally, two neural network (NN) are used to decrease the time-consuming computation of the model and ZMP optimization. The first neural network approximates the inverse dynamics and the ZMP optimization, while the second one works in the optimization procedure, giving the adapting parameter according to orthosis-patient interaction. Also, a robust controller based on the ¿_¿ method is designed to attenuate the effects of external disturbances and parametric uncertainties in the trajectory tracking errors. The dynamic model of the actual exoskeleton, with interaction forces included, is used to generate simulation results.

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