An apparatus for assisting in body movement includes a framework which is connectable with a human body and an elastic force transmission system connected with the framework. The elastic force transmission system stores energy during a first portion of movement of the human body and releases the stored energy during a second portion of the movement of the human body. The elastic force transmission system includes an elongated force transmission component which is resiliently extendable under the influence of force transmitted through the framework. Although the apparatus can be used in association with any desired portion of the human body, it may be particularly advantageous to use the apparatus in association with one or both legs of the human body.

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The goal of this project is to develop a means for individuals with stroke to practice arm movement therapy at home with remote monitoring. We previously developed a Web-based system for repetitive movement training (Java Therapy). This paper describes a new input device for the system that measures and assists in naturalistic arm movement, as well as software enhancements. The new input device is an instrumented, adult-sized version of Wilmington robotic exoskeleton (WREX), which is a five degrees-of-freedom orthosis that counterbalances the weight of the arm using elastic bands. To test the ability of the new device (Training-WREX or «T-WREX») to measure and assist in functional arm movements, we measured five chronic stroke subjects’ movement ability while wearing the orthosis without gravity balance compared to wearing the orthosis with gravity balance. T-WREX’s gravity balance function improved a clinical measure of arm movement (Fugl-Meyer Score), range of motion of reaching movements, and accuracy of drawing movements. Coupled with an enhanced version of Java Therapy, T-WREX will thus provide a means to assist functional arm movement training at home, either over the Web in real-time, or stand-alone with periodic communication with a remote site.

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Loss of function after SCI, ABI or stroke has a marked affect on ones quality of life. Return of function has been a long-standing goal of physical and occupational therapy. Repeated motor practice has been identified as crucial for motor recovery. The development of a robotic device for neuromotor rehabilitation and upper extremity neuromuscular system recovery is described. The actuator mechanism allows free motion when possible, and provides programmable therapeutic levels of resistance. The sensor system allows characterization of the applied forces, and accurate measurement of the range of motion of the joint. The control system provides real time feedback of actuator commands based on sensor data, calibration routines, and operational modes.

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Two human–robot interactions, including a haptic in-teraction and a teleoperated interaction, are explored in this paper with a new exoskeleton-type master-arm, in which the electric brakes with the torque sensor beams are used for force reflection. In the hap-tic interaction with virtual environment, the masterarm is used as a haptic device and tested to examine how the resistant torque of the electric brake for the force reflection is implemented in contact regime prior to conducting the teleoperated interaction. Two types of virtual environments, a rigid wall with high stiffness (hard contact with 10 [KN/m]) and a soft wall with low stiffness (soft contact with 0.1 [N/m]), are integrated with the masterarm for the haptic interaction. In hard contact, large force is fed back to the human operator, and makes the human operator hardly move. The electric brake with the torque sensor beam can detect the torque and its direction so that it allows free motion as well as contact motion by releasing or holding the movement of the operator. The experimental results show how the electric brake is switched from contact to free regime to allow the operator to move freely, especially when the operator intends to move toward the free regime in contact. In soft contact, the force applied to the human operator can be increased or decreased proportionally to the torque amount sensed by the torque sensor beam, thus the operator can feel the contact force proportional to the amount of the deformation during the contact. Finally, the masterarm is integrated with the humanoid robot, CENTAUR developed at Korea Institute of Science and Technology to conduct a pick-and-place task through the teleoperated in-teraction. It is examined that the CENTAUR as a slave robot can follow the movement of the operator.

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(EN)A wearable action-assist device for assisting the wearer to act or doing an action for the wearer (1) comprises an action-assist wearable tool (2) having an actuator (201) to give the wearer a mechanical force, a biosignal sensor (221) for detecting a biosignal of the wearer (1), a biosignal processing means (3) for obtaining, from the biosignal (a) detected by the biosignal sensor, a neurotransmitting signal (b) to move the musculoskeletal system of the wearer (1) and a muscle potential signal (c) generated when a muscle activity occurs , a voluntary control means (4) for generating, using the obtained neurotransmitting signal (b) and muscle potential signal (c), a command signal (d) to generate a mechanical force reflecting the intention of the wearer (1) in the actuator (201), and a drive current generating means (5) for producing, according to the command signal (d), currents corresponding to the neurotransmission signal (b) and the muscle potential signal (c) respectively and supplying them to the actuator (201).
(FR)Cette invention se rapporte à un dispositif portatif d’assistance aux mouvements, servant à assister dans ces mouvements la personne qui le porte, appelée utilisateur, ou à effectuer un mouvement pour l’utilisateur (1) et comprenant à cet effet un instrument portatif (2) d’assistance aux mouvements, comportant un actuateur (201) destiné à conférer à l’utilisateur une force mécanique, un capteur de biosignal (221) servant à détecter un biosignal de l’utilisateur (1), un processeur de biosignal (3) destiné à obtenir, à partir du biosignal (a) détecté par le capteur de biosignal, un signal neurotransmetteur (b) destiné à déplacer le système musculo-squelettique de l’utilisateur (1) et un signal de potentiel musculaire (c) généré lorsqu’une activité musculaire se produit, un moyen de commande volontaire (4) destiné à produire, en utilisant le signal neurotransmetteur (b) et le signal de potentiel musculaire (c) obtenus, un signal d’instruction (d) destiné à générer une force mécanique reflétant les intentions de l’utilisateur (1) dans l’actuateur (201), et un générateur de courant d’excitation (5) destiné à produire, en fonction du signal d’instruction (d), des courants correspondant au signal neurotransmetteur (b) et au signal de potentiel musculaire (c) respectivement et à appliquer ces signaux à l’actuateur (201).
(JA)　装着者の動作を補助あるいは代行する装着式動作補助装置は、装着者１に対して動力を付与するアクチュエータ201を有した動作補助装着具２と、装着者１の生体信号を検出する生体信号センサ221と、装着者１の筋骨格系を動作させるための神経伝達信号ｂおよび筋活動に伴う筋電位信号ｃを、生体信号センサにより検出された生体信号ａから取得する生体信号処理手段３と、生体信号処理手段３により取得された神経伝達信号ｂおよび筋電位信号ｃを用い、装着者１の意思に従った動力をアクチュエータ201に発生させるための指令信号ｄを生成する随意的制御手段４と、随意的制御手段４により生成された指令信号ｄに基づいて、神経伝達信号ｂに応じた電流および筋電位信号ｃに応じた電流をそれぞれ生成し、アクチュエータ201に供給する駆動電流生成手段５とを備える。

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