Improving mobility using exosuits - a feasibility study on patients with incomplete spinal cord injury

使用外装改善活动能力——对不完全脊髓损伤患者的可行性研究

• 批准号: 324040788
• 负责人: Dr. Martin Grimmer
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Sportwissenschaft
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Fellowships
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-31 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/324040788?language=en
• 关键词: Improving; mobility; using; exosuits; feasibility

Mobility and thus independence are key determinants for quality of life. The main cause for mobility limitations are unstoppable reductions in physical capacity with increasing age. Multiple diseases that affect the respiratory, the circulatory or the musculoskeletal system will have a strong influence on the physical capacity in addition. Also neurological diseases causing paresis or paralysis will reduce mobility. We believe that elderly and especially impaired young and elderly can highly benefit from a powered locomotion assistance that helps to overcome lost physical capacity.Lower limb exoskeletons and exosuits might provide a possible solution to increase user mobility. 0They have the potential to shift the disability threshold to a higher age or to avoid it over the whole life course. Industry and research focused on the development of systems to assist load carrying, lifting of heavy objects, and manufacturing. For medical purposes, rehabilitation systems to regain walking after injury and systems to assist walking in daily life are developed. Such systems can include the whole leg or single joint assistance. Lightweight single joint assistance showed promising advantages for several movement tasks. Especially so called soft exosuits show high potential for clinical rehabilitation and daily life usage for impaired and elderly.The desired project aims at testing the prospects of an existing novel exosuit prototype to support walking and standing up from seated position. As the first target group, for proof of concept, incomplete spinal cord injury patients are selected. Both, walking and standing are the top priorities for this population. So far incomplete SCI patients use wheelchairs to compensate missing walking ability. But stairs and slopes can limit wheelchair mobility in urban environments. The proposed concept combines the use of a wheelchair and a powered lower limb exosuit. The wheelchair should be the main tool to solve daily life mobility requirements. If necessary, the patient can use the exosuit to stand up and walk for shorter distances. Thus the user will be able to challenge steps and stairs. In addition, standing up will help to increase reaching height. During the 1 months of internship it is planned to evaluate the newest version of the exosuit designed by the Sensory-Motor Systems Lab at ETHZ. In a first stage the exosuit assistance and the control should be tested on healthy subjects for standing up and level walking. In the second stage standing up and level walking should be tested with incomplete SCI patients at the University Hospital Balgrist. Next to incomplete SCI patients, several further patient populations might take advantage of the envisioned developments.

流动性和独立性是生活质量的关键决定因素。行动受限的主要原因是随着年龄的增长，身体能力不可阻挡地下降。此外，影响呼吸系统、循环系统或肌肉骨骼系统的多种疾病也会对身体能力产生很大影响。此外，神经系统疾病引起的轻瘫或瘫痪将减少流动性。 我们相信，老年人，特别是受损的年轻人和老年人可以从动力辅助运动中受益匪浅，这有助于克服失去的身体能力。下肢外骨骼和外骨骼服可能提供一种可能的解决方案，以增加用户的移动性。他们有可能将残疾门槛提高到更高的年龄，或者在整个生命过程中避免残疾。工业和研究的重点是系统的发展，以协助负载，起重重物，和制造。出于医疗目的，开发了在受伤后恢复行走的康复系统和在日常生活中辅助行走的系统。这种系统可以包括整个腿或单个关节辅助。轻型单关节援助显示出有前途的优势，为几个运动任务。特别是所谓的软机器护甲显示出很高的潜力，为临床康复和日常生活中使用的受损和老年人。所需的项目旨在测试现有的新型机器护甲原型的前景，以支持步行和站起来，从坐的位置。作为第一个目标群体，为了验证概念，选择不完全脊髓损伤患者。行走和站立都是这一人群的首要任务。到目前为止，不完全脊髓损伤患者使用轮椅来弥补失去的行走能力。但是楼梯和斜坡会限制轮椅在城市环境中的移动性。所提出的概念结合了轮椅和动力下肢外装护具的使用。轮椅应该是解决日常生活行动需求的主要工具。如有必要，患者可以使用外装护具站立并行走较短的距离。因此，用户将能够挑战台阶和楼梯。此外，站起来有助于增加可达高度。在为期1个月的实习期间，计划评估ETHZ传感-运动系统实验室设计的最新版本的外装。在第一阶段，应在健康受试者身上测试机器护甲的辅助和控制，以进行站立和水平行走。在第二阶段，站立和水平行走应在巴尔格瑞斯特大学医院的不完全SCI患者中进行测试。除了不完全SCI患者之外，其他几个患者群体可能会利用设想的发展。