Sudden changes in walking surface compliance evoke contralateral EMG in a hemiparetic walker: A case study of inter-leg coordination after neurological injury
Sudden changes in walking surface compliance evoke contralateral EMG in a hemiparetic walker: A case study of inter-leg coordination after neurological injury
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行走表面顺应性的突然变化引起偏瘫行走者的对侧肌电图：神经损伤后腿间协调的案例研究
DOI：
10.1109/embc.2016.7591772
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
P. Artemiadis
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Skidmore;P. Artemiadis
神经系统疾病导致的步态障碍是世界范围内的一个重大问题。尽管人们对使用机器人设备进行步态康复越来越感兴趣，但它们的广泛使用仍然有限，因为没有明确的证据表明机器人辅助步态疗法优于传统的基于跑步机的疗法。这项工作是一个案例研究，重点研究神经损伤后腿间协调机制的存在，并在此基础上提出步态康复的新方法。使用一种新型的机器人装置--变刚度跑步机(VST)，对非偏瘫腿下步行表面的柔度进行摄动，并分析对侧(偏瘫)腿的响应。我们发现肌肉活动是在瘫痪腿的腓肠肌中被激发的。从临床角度来看，这项研究的结果可能是颠覆性的，因为我们的方法提供了一种安全和有针对性的方法来为偏瘫患者提供步态康复，因为不需要直接操作瘫痪侧。这项工作首次提供了证据，证明偏瘫步行者的偏瘫腿部可以诱发肌肉活动，以响应对步行表面顺应性的单边扰动，为有针对性的机器人辅助步态康复提供方向。
Gait impairment due to neurological disorders is a significant problem around the world. Despite the growing interest in using robotic devices for gait rehabilitation, their widespread use remains limited as there is no clear evidence that robot-assisted gait therapy is superior to traditional treadmill-based therapy. This work is a case study that focuses on investigating the existence of mechanisms of inter-leg coordination after neurological injury, and based on that, proposing novel methods for gait rehabilitation. Using a novel robotic device, the Variable Stiffness Treadmill (VST), we apply perturbations to the compliance of the walking surface underneath the non-paretic leg, and analyze the response of the contralateral (paretic) leg. We show that muscle activity is evoked in the gastrocnemius of the paretic leg. From a clinical prospective, the results of this study can be disruptive because our methods provide a safe and targeted way to provide gait rehabilitation in hemiparesis since direct manipulation of the paretic side is not required. This work provides evidence for the first time that muscle activity can be evoked in the paretic leg of a hemiplegic walker in response to unilateral perturbations to the compliance of the walking surface, providing direction for targeted robot-assisted gait rehabilitation.