A lower-limb exoskeleton system for investigating the neuromechanical control of human locomotion and designing assistive robotic aids

对许多人来说，散步是每天都要做的事情，不需要太多思考，也相对容易。我们可以优雅地调整步态，以适应不断变化的地形、任务要求和身体限制。然而，我们的神经系统是如何完成这种优雅的、看似毫不费力的控制的，我们还没有很好地理解。此外，当行走能力受损时，其后果可能是毁灭性的，影响一个人保持独立和与社区联系的能力。不幸的是，7%的加拿大人有行动障碍，在65岁以上的成年人中，这个比例上升到20%以上。******这项NSERC RTI提案将支持购买下肢外骨骼仿真系统，该系统将被女王大学的两个新兴世界级实验室使用，以了解人类运动的神经机械控制，以及创建新的康复策略和辅助机器人技术，可以帮助那些行动障碍的人。拟购买的外骨骼仿真系统的主要组件包括：i.脚踝外骨骼，它是一种类似支架的硬件装置，佩戴在脚踝处，可以对关节施加扭矩；2。配套的执行器是一个电机，它产生踝关节外骨骼工作所需的力；ⅲ。控制和接口软件，它需要命令和捕获施加在关节上的扭矩。这种最先进的系统将被研究人员和工程师用来测试步态控制的基本问题，例如，通过精确和快速地干扰行走的人，然后研究由此产生的平衡控制策略或运动的能量后果。此外，该系统将用于开发外骨骼控制策略，用于中风等行动障碍患者的机器人辅助康复治疗，并在地上行走时为下肢外骨骼创建直观和自然的控制器。******这个外骨骼模拟器系统将是加拿大首个此类系统，为加拿大学生学员提供尖端的培训机会，并促进创新和国际合作。学员将在人体运动科学、辅助和可穿戴技术以及先进的编码和数据管理技能方面拥有罕见和需求的专业知识。这种丰富的培训环境，跨越自然科学和工程的多个领域，将使学员在学术界或工业界的职业生涯中受益于加拿大研究和创新的未来。所要求的设备对他们的工作和训练至关重要，这将产生对行走控制的基本科学见解，创新下一代辅助机器人技术，并为未来康复疗法的设计提供信息，有朝一日可能使250多万加拿大人受益于行动障碍。* * * * *

For many people, walking is something done every day, without much thought and with relative ease. We can gracefully adapt our gait to changing terrains, task demands, and constraints on our body. Yet, how this elegant and seemingly effortless control is accomplished by our nervous system is not well understood. Moreover, when the ability to walk is impaired, the consequences can be devastatingaffecting one's ability to both remain independent and connect to community. Unfortunately, 7% of Canadians have a mobility disorder, with this percentage rising to over 20% in adults over the age of 65. ******This NSERC RTI proposal will support the purchase of a lower-limb exoskeleton emulator system that will be used by two emerging world-class laboratories at Queen's University to understand the neuromechanical control of human locomotion, as well as create novel rehabilitation strategies and assistive robotic technologies that could aid those with mobility impairments. The primary components of the exoskeleton emulator system to be purchased include: i. an ankle exoskeleton, which is a brace-like hardware device that is worn at the ankle and can apply torques to the joint; ii. the accompanying actuator, which is a motor that creates the force necessary for the ankle exoskeleton to work; and iii. control and interface software, which is needed to both command and capture the torques being applied to the joint. This state-of-the-art system will be used by researchers and engineers to test fundamental questions about the control of gait, for example by precisely and rapidly perturbing a walking human and then studying the resulting balance control strategies or energetic consequences of movement. Moreover, the system will be used to develop exoskeleton control strategies for robot-assisted rehabilitation therapy for those with mobility impairments, such as stroke, and create intuitive and natural controllers for lower-limb exoskeletons during over-ground walking. ******This exoskeleton emulator system will be the first of its kind in Canada, offering cutting edge training opportunities for Canadian student trainees and fostering innovation and international collaborations. Trainees will have a rare and in demand combination of expertise in human movement science, assistive and wearable technology, and advanced coding and data management skills. This rich training environment, across multiple fields within natural sciences and engineering, will prepare trainees to benefit the future of Canadian research and innovation through careers in either academia or industry. The requested equipment is critical for their work and training, which will generate fundamental scientific insight into the control of walking, innovate the next generation of assistive robotic technologies, and inform the design of future rehabilitation therapies that may one day benefit over 2.5 million Canadians who suffer from a mobility impairment. *****