Improving Community Ambulation for Stroke Survivors using Powered Hip Exoskeletons with Adaptive Environmental Controllers

项目摘要摘要 步行增加的代谢和生物力学需求限制了老年人的社区活动 由于神经损伤而导致的肢体残疾。迫切需要提高移动能力。 对因疾病而有行走障碍的个人，以增加他们的社区流动性、独立性、 和健康。机器人外骨骼有可能通过增加社区流动性来帮助这些人 以提高生活质量。虽然这些设备具有令人难以置信的潜力，但目前的技术不支持 运动中常见的动态运动，如在不同步态之间转换和支撑 不同的行走速度。利用外骨骼实现社区步行的一个重大挑战 正在提供一种自适应控制系统，以完成各种运动任务。许多外骨骼 今天，在没有详细了解该设备对人类肌肉骨骼的影响的情况下开发的 系统。本研究致力于研究控制系统对人体的影响问题 生物力学包括运动学、动力学和肌肉激活模式。通过优化外骨骼控制器 基于人体生物力学和基于任务的自适应控制，对患者群体的最大好处 将实现帮助推进最先进的辅助性髋外骨骼。 长期的研究目标是创造出对以下领域有重大价值的动力辅助外骨骼设备 通过改善临床结果，如步行速度和 社区行走能力。拟议项目的总体目标是研究生物力学。 应用带自适应控制器的髋关节外骨骼辅助卒中幸存者肢体功能障碍的效果 以提高他们的社区行走能力。围绕这两个目标的核心假设是 适应环境地形的外骨骼控制将改善人类外骨骼的流动性指标 执行社区步行任务的用户。其基本原理是，由于人类的生物力学根据任务而变化， 外骨骼控制器同样需要优化他们的辅助水平，以匹配人类正在做的事情。 研究的第一个目标是确定基于以下条件变化的自适应控制的益处 提高社区步行能力的环境条件。第二个目标将扩大这一点 为行动不便的中风幸存者提供适应性援助的控制架构 社区步行条件，并量化步态的生物力学和临床改善。这些目标 将产生积极的影响，帮助为未来动力外骨骼的控制和设计提供信息 协助肢体残障人士。

Project Summary Abstract The increased metabolic and biomechanical demands of ambulation limit community mobility in persons with lower limb disability due to neurological damage. There is a critical need for improving the locomotion capabilities of individuals who have walking impairments due to disease to increase their community mobility, independence, and health. Robotic exoskeletons have the potential to assist these individuals by increasing community mobility to improve quality of life. While these devices have incredible potential, current technology does not support dynamic movements common with locomotion such as transitioning between different gaits and supporting a wide variety of walking speeds. One significant challenge in achieving community ambulation with exoskeletons is providing an adaptive control system to accomplish a wide variety of locomotor tasks. Many exoskeletons today are developed without a detailed understanding of the effect of the device on the human musculoskeletal system. This research is interested in studying the question of how the control system affects human biomechanics including kinematic, kinetics and muscle activation patterns. By optimizing exoskeleton controllers based on human biomechanics and adapting control based on task, the biggest benefit to patient populations will be achieved to help advance the state-of-the-art with assistive hip exoskeletons. The long-term research goal is to create powered assistive exoskeletons devices that are of great value to individuals with serious lower limb disabilities by improving clinical outcomes such as walking speed and community ambulation ability. The overall objective of the proposed project is to study the biomechanical effects of using a hip exoskeleton with adaptive controllers for assisting stroke survivors with lower limb deficits to improve their community ambulation capabilities. The central hypothesis overarching both aims is that exoskeleton control that adapts to environmental terrain will improve mobility metrics for human exoskeleton users on community ambulation tasks. The rationale is that since human biomechanics change based on task, exoskeleton controllers likewise need to optimize their assistance levels to match what the human is doing. The first aim of the research is to determine the benefit of adaptive control that changes based on environmental conditions for improving community ambulation capability. The second aim will extend this control architecture to stroke survivors with mobility impairment to provide adaptive assistance during community ambulation conditions and quantify biomechanical and clinical improvements in gait. These aims will have a positive impact by helping to inform the control and design of future powered exoskeletons for assisting individuals with lower limb disabilities.