Validación experimental de un modelo de músculo activado de forma artificial

Postprint (published version

Design of a patient-tailored active knee-ankle-foot orthosis to assist the gait of spinal cord injured subjects

—This paper presents the main design steps in the development of an active knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) conceived to assist the gait of incomplete spinal cord injured (SCI) subjects. The design approach is based on the idea of modifying the available passive orthoses by adding adaptable mechatronic modules at the joints. This approach has resulted in a prototype that has been tested on SCI patients. The design and control problems found and their adopted solutions are thoroughly described.Postprint (published version

Design, control and evaluation of a low-cost active orthosis for the gait of spinal cord injured subjects

Robotic gait training after spinal cord injury is of high priority to maximize independence and improve the living conditions of the patients. Current rehabilitation robots are expensive and heavy, and are generally found only in the clinical environment. To overcome these issues, we present the design of a low-cost, low-weight and personalized robotic orthosis for incomplete spinal cord injured subjects. The paper also presents a preliminary experimental evaluation of the assistive device on one subject with spinal cord injury that can control hip flexion to a certain extent, but lacks control of knee and ankle muscles. Results show that gait velocity, stride length and cadence of walking increased (24,11%, 7,41% and 15,56%, respectively) when wearing active orthoses compared to the case when the subject used the usual passive orthoses.Postprint (published version

Low-cost active orthosis for gait assistance of subjects with spinal cord injury

Postprint (published version

Design, control, and pilot study of a lightweight and modular robotic exoskeleton for walking assistance after spinal cord injury

Walking rehabilitation using exoskeletons is of high importance to maximize independence and improve the general well-being of spinal cord injured subjects. We present the design and control of a lightweight and modular robotic exoskeleton to assist walking in spinal cord injured subjects who can control hip flexion, but lack control of knee and ankle muscles. The developed prototype consists of two robotic orthoses, which are powered by a motor-harmonic drive actuation system that controls knee flexion–extension. This actuation module is assembled on standard passive orthoses. Regarding the control, the stance-to-swing transition is detected using two inertial measurement units mounted on the tibial supports, and then the corresponding motor performs a predefined flexion–extension cycle that is personalized to the specific patient’s motor function. The system is portable by means of a backpack that contains an embedded computer board, the motor drivers, and the battery. A preliminary biomechanical evaluation of the gait-assistive device used by a female patient with incomplete spinal cord injury at T11 is presented. Results show an increase of gait speed (+24.11%), stride length (+7.41%), and cadence (+15.56%) when wearing the robotic orthoses compared with the case with passive orthoses. Conversely, a decrease of lateral displacement of the center of mass (-19.31%) and step width (-13.37% right step, -8.81% left step) are also observed, indicating gain of balance. The biomechanical assessment also reports an overall increase of gait symmetry when wearing the developed assistive device.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

ABLE: assistive biorobotic low-cost exoskeleton

Robotic gait training after spinal cord injury is of high priority to maximize independence and improve the health condition of these patients. Current rehabilitation robots are expensive and heavy, and are generally found only in the clinic. To overcome these issues, we present the design of a low-cost, low-weight, personalized and easy-to-use robotic exoskeleton for incomplete spinal cord injured subjects based on simple modular components that are assembled on the current passive orthopedic supports. The paper also presents a preliminary experimental assessment of the assistive device on one subject with spinal cord injury that can control hip flexion, but lacks control of knee and ankle muscles. Results show that gait velocity, stride length and cadence of walking increased (24,11%, 7,41% and 15,56%, respectively) when wearing the robotic exoskeleton compared to the case when the subject used the usual passive supports.Postprint (author's final draft

Underactuated approach for the control-based forward dynamic analysis of acquired gait motions

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A Single-Step Smoothing-Differentiation Procedure Using the Newmark Method

Postprint (published version