NRI-Small: Robotic Treadmill Therapy for Lower Spinal Cord Injuries

针对不完全下脊髓损伤（SCI）患者的新型康复疗法将使用Treadport开发，这是一种机器人跑步机，可在安全灵活的虚拟环境中提供逼真的步行体验。“跑步机”克服了目前康复跑步机的局限性，这些跑步机与日常行走相差太大，因此限制了患者的康复。我们将努力提高病人的行走速度和力度，通过加强和训练病人对意外干扰的抵抗力，以及对正常行走至关重要的手臂摆动协调。智力上的优点是体重辅助机器人跑步机训练，手臂摆动辅助使用轻型外骨骼。机器人跑步机将提供监控辅助和虚拟现实训练场景，目前还不可能。更广泛的影响是新技术和科学认识的发展，这将改善脊髓损伤患者的生活，使他们在受伤的情况下尽可能多地活动。拟议的研究结合了机器人、生物力学和物理治疗等学科，需要跨学科的训练。该项目的社会积极性质预计将特别吸引工程和计算机科学领域代表性不足的人群，特别是妇女和残疾人。该提案解决了国家机器人倡议的合作主题，特别是康复，矫形和假肢。

New rehabilitation therapies for patients with incomplete lower spinal cord injuries (SCI) will be developed using the Treadport, a robotic treadmill that provides a realistic walking experience in a safe and flexible virtual environment. The Treadport overcomes limitations of current rehabilitation treadmills, which are too dissimilar from everyday walking and therefore limit a patient's recovery. We will seek to improve a patient's walking speed and effort, resistance to falling by strengthening and training a patient to unexpected perturbations, and arm swing coordination which is critical for normal walking. The intellectual merit is the body-weight assisted robotic treadmill training, and arm swing assistance using a light-weight exoskeleton. The robotic treadmill will provide monitored assistance and virtual reality training scenarios not currently possible.The broader impact is the development of new technology and scientific understanding that will improve the lives of SCI patients so that they have the most mobility possible given their injuries. The proposed research combines the disciplines of robotics, biomechanics, and physical therapy, and requires interdisciplinary training. The socially positive nature of this project is expected to be especially attractive to underrepresented populations in engineering and computer science, particularly women and people with disabilities.This proposal addresses the co-worker theme of the National Robotics Initiative, particularly rehabilitation, orthotics and prosthetics.