Design and development of an active lower-limb exoskeleton for rehabilitation applications

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The existing lower limb exoskeletons in general, and the Bionik's system in particular, suffer from a number of drawbacks, including: 1) High cost, 2) Excessive weight, 3) High power consumption, 4) Bulky packaging and lack of ergonomics, 5) Limited maneuverability due to high volume of wires, and 6) Lack of user friendly Human-Machine Interfaces for data handling. The proposed system in this grant application has the following main characteristics and novelties. 1) It has reduced weight and cost and enhanced usability through utilization of lightweight materials and ergonomic design. 2) It uses wireless communication for linking the stationary and mobile components, to reduce restrictions to a greater extent. 3) Data is collected real-time through an array of sensors that are placed on the mobile component of the ExoLeg. 4) It has an efficient control system to process the acquired data and to receive commands from the user, through voice, joystick or even a touch pad. 5) The wearable component of the system uses rechargeable batteries that can be charged whenever the user is resting. 6) Customized functions allow communication between the user and robot. Venerable and marginalized group of the population, such as elderly, would benefit from this research. Currently, individuals with paraplegia are mostly confined to manual or electrical wheelchairs. By allowing individuals with paraplegia to stand and walk, ExoLeg would virtually eliminate most of the secondary health issues related to wheelchair use, such as pressure ulcers, respiratory problems, genitourinary problems, spasticity, pain, and autonomic dysreflexia. It reduces the negative psychological consequences of immobility and further improves the quality of life of the user and his/her family. Bionik is a Canadian company and plans to perform the manufacturing, assembly and quality testing of ExoLegs in Canada. This would translate to a large number of highly-skilled, well-paid jobs in both academia and commercial business enterprise. The technology serves as the stepping-stone for the development of an array of robotic assistive devices for a wide range of applications from medical to deep-sea exploration, and military use.