Acquisition of a Self-Balancing Powered Exoskeleton for Mobility and Physical Rehabilitation

项目总结/摘要 NJT及其研究和临床合作者迫切需要更深入地了解 外骨骼辅助运动（EAL）期间的人机交互。为了满足这一需求，建议 要求获得资金，以获得一个自我平衡，免提下肢外骨骼和测试的有效性， 设备，以促进功能独立的人与神经系统疾病。其长期目标是 我们的工作是使机器人外骨骼能够无缝集成，用于家庭和社区使用， 神经系统疾病患者的生活质量和健康同龄人不相上下。 虽然机器人外骨骼具有巨大的潜力，但目前的设备无法安全地恢复 神经系统疾病患者的活动能力。这在很大程度上是因为机器人外骨骼 康复是相对较新的，商业设备接受食品和药物管理局（FDA） 在过去的七年中，这些公司获得了批准（2014年的ReWalk，2016年的Indego和Ekso）。对机器人的需求不断增长 外骨骼暴露了安全和持续使用的两个关键障碍：用途：1）人-机器人的界限 EAL期间的性能还没有得到很好的理解，因为在受控实验室设置下的经验数据 不存在或不提供给研究界; 2）这是困难和昂贵的， 进行必要的实验，以系统地表征EAL期间的人机性能。在 此外，目前在美国使用的所有三种FDA批准的设备都需要手持拐杖或 步行者。这排除了一部分患有神经系统疾病的人群，这些人群无法充分控制或 力量在他们的手臂。拐杖/步行者还限制了使用者可以从事的活动的强度和范围 当在机器人外骨骼中时，限制了这种辅助设备的效用以重新获得功能独立性 和生活质量。 获得自动平衡，免提外骨骼将大大加强正在进行的研究 由NIH和其他联邦机构资助。这些跨学科的研究项目范围很广， 包括在实验室环境中进行受控实验，以获得有关人类-机器人的基础知识 外骨骼中的交互，开发EAL的特定主题虚拟模拟器，了解 EAL改善患者人群的步态特征和功能独立性，并开发虚拟 为弱势群体提供外骨骼使用培训的现实平台。这些项目将提供 急需的经验数据和技术发展，以加速机器人外骨骼的集成 供家庭和社区使用。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT There is a strong need at NJIT and its research and clinical collaborators to develop a deeper understanding of human-robot interaction during exoskeletal-assisted locomotion (EAL). To address this need, the proposal requests funding to acquire a self-balancing, hands-free lower extremity exoskeleton and test the efficacy of this device to promote functional independence in people with neurological disorders. The long-term goal of this work is to enable robotic exoskeletons to integrate seamlessly for in-home and community use, restoring mobility and quality of life of individuals with neurological disorders on par with their able-bodied peers. Although robotic exoskeletons have tremendous potential, current devices fall short of safely restoring mobility in individuals with neurological disorders. This is in large part because robotic exoskeletons for rehabilitation are relatively new, with commercial devices receiving Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals in the past seven years (ReWalk in 2014, Indego and Ekso in 2016). The growing demand for robotic exoskeletons has exposed two critical barriers to safe and sustained use: 1) the bounds of human-robot performance during EAL are not well-understood because empirical data under controlled laboratory settings do not exist or are not available to the research community; and 2) it is difficult and prohibitively expensive to conduct the necessary experiments to characterize systematically human-robot performance during EAL. In addition, all three FDA-approved devices currently used in the United States require hand-held crutches or a walker. This excludes a subset of population with neurological disorders who do not have adequate control or strength in their arms. The crutches/walker also limit the intensity and range of activities a user can engage in while in the robotic exoskeleton, limiting the utility of such assistive devices to regain functional independence and quality of life. The acquisition of the self-balancing, hands-free exoskeleton would greatly strengthen on-going research funded by the NIH and other federal agencies. These interdisciplinary research projects span a large range, including controlled experiments in laboratory settings to acquire fundamental knowledge about human-robot interaction in exoskeletons, developing subject-specific virtual simulators of EAL, understanding the efficacy of EAL to improve gait characteristics and functional independence in patient populations, and developing virtual reality platforms for training vulnerable populations in exoskeleton use. Collectively, these projects will provide the much-needed empirical data and technology developments to accelerate integration of robotic exoskeletons for in-home and community use.