An Active Exoskeleton Called P.I.G.R.O. Designed for Unloaded Robotic Neurorehabilitation Training

The development of innovative robotic devices allows the design of exoskeletons for robotic neurorehabilitation training. This paper presents the active exoskeleton called pneumatic interactive gait rehabilitation orthosis (P.I.G.R.O.), developed by the authors. The main innovative characteristic of this prototype is its design for fully unloaded robotic neurorehabilitation training, specific for brain-injured patients. It has six degrees of freedom (DOF) in the sagittal plane, an active ankle joint (removable if it is required); a wide range of anthropometric regulations, both for men and for women; a useful human machine interface (HMI); and an innovative harness system for the patient for the unloaded training. It is realized using light and strong materials, and it is electropneumatically controlled. In particular the authors also studied and defined some innovative input control curves useful for the unloaded training. In this paper, the main characteristics and innovations of P.I.G.R.O. are presented

PRELIMINARY STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF AN ACTIVE EXOSKELETON FOR ROBOTIC NEURO-REHABILITATION

In this paper the exoskeleton P.I.G.R.O. (Pneumatic Interactive Gait Rehabilitation Orthosis), developed in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS) Politecnico di Torino with the important co-operation with doctors, is presented. It was preliminary designed for a completely unloaded walking gait cycle in order to treat the first steps of the neurorehabilitation trainings. An initial FEM evaluation of P.I.G.R.O. structure is here presented. It underlines a lot of important aspects and techniques to analyse the structural characteristics of P.I.G.R.O. legs rigid parts using a commercial software but analysing both the actions of the pneumatic actuators and of the patients muscles and/or movements. The results obtained are good and allow to verify the P.I.G.R.O. legs structure and to establish a procedure to study its characteristics also with the presence of the patien

Bra.Di.P.O. and P.I.G.R.O.: Innovative Devices for Motor Learning Programs

Two mechatronics prototypes, useful for robotic neurotreatments and new clinical trainings, are here presented. P.I.G.R.O. (pneumatic interactive gait rehabilitation orthosis) is an active exoskeleton with an electropneumatic control. It imposes movements on lower limbs in order to produce in the patient’s brain proper motor cortex activation. Bra.Di.P.O. (brain discovery pneumatic orthosis) is an MR-compatible device, designed to improve fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) analysis. The two devices are presented together because both are involved in the study of new robotic treatments of patients affected by ictus or brain stroke or in some motor learning experimental investigations carried out on healthy subjects

P.I.G.R.O.: An active exoskeleton for robotic neurorehabilitation training driven by an electro-pneumatic control

The structure and the main innovations of an active exoskeleton called P.I.G.R.O. (Pneumatic Interactive Gait Rehabilitation Orthosis) is here presented. It is an active exoskeleton electro-pneumatically controlled with 6 DoF (Degree of Freedom) in the sagittal plane. Its main field of application is robotic neuro rehabilitation

Study and realisation of a preliminary control system for the active exoskeleton called P.I.G.R.O., suitable for unloaded robotic neurorehabilitation treatments

In this paper the study and the realization of the electro-pneumatic control system of the active exoskeleton called P.I.G.R.O. (Pneumatic Interactive Gait Rehabilitation Orthosis) was presented. This exoskeleton was designed for unloaded robotic neuro-rehabilitation training useful in the beginning of the treatment. The use of an active exoskeleton in these trainings allows to use some proper input control curves suitable for the patient treatment, to measure all the parameters, to repeat properly the treatment during the whole rehabilitation program, saving all the data. The realization of P.I.G.R.O. control system was carried out by means of various kinds of experimental tests during which the authors analyzed and defined the all parameters of the PWM-PID (Pulse-Width Modulation; Proportional–Integral–Derivative) controller and the influence of the load, of the tubes dimensions, of the structure of the electro-pneumatic system

Control curves for a new lower limbs robotic exoskeleton obtained from the study of joints angles during an unloaded human walking

Studies of motor learning and robotic neurorehabilitation often involve walking with the patient suspended by means of a Body Weight Support (BWS) and guided by a robotic orthosis. This paper describes an innovative research carried on to establish the laws of motion of an active exoskeleton, called P.I.G.R.O. (Pneumatic Interactive Gait Rehabilitation Orthosis), designed by the authors and often used in suspended walking treatments as this avoid the iper-activation of the patient's antigravity musculature in the preliminary steps of the rehabilitation treatment. These experimental tests were carried on with ten healthy subjects wearing the robotic orthosis used as a means of acquiring hip-knee and ankle behavior in this special walking condition with the volunteers' joint angles recorded by the potentiometers of the orthosis. So the ESUWS (Experimental Spontaneous Unloaded Walking Set) curves were plotted. The latter were compared with the theoretical curves of the over-ground walking (Physiological Walking Set - PWS) in order to construct proper reference curves of the healthy spontaneous suspended walking (Authors' Unloaded Walking Set - AUWS), also compared with physiological curves in over-ground walking. The results obtained are highly satisfactory and useful for future neuro-rehabilitation training for brain strokes and ictus

APPLICAZIONE DI UN'ORTESI ATTIVA PER ARTI INFERIORI NEL CAMPO DELLA NEURORIABILITAZIONE ROBOTIZZATA

Il presente lavoro si prefigge di presentare l'utilizzo di un'ortesi attiva applicabile nell'ambito della neuroriabilitazione robotizzata. Il caso presentato rappresenta uno studio pilota su un soggetto sano per la messa a punto di un protocollo di riabilitazione da utilizzare in futuro. La finalità è di apportare dei cambiamenti a livello della neuroplasticità cerebrale attraverso un training in cui aspetti motori e cognitivi del soggetto interagiscano. La valutazione dell’efficacia del training viene effettuata tramite risonanza magnetica funzionale (fMRI). Per il training è stato utilizzato il tutore attivo P.I.G.R.O. (Pneumatic Interactive Rehabilitation Orthosis), macchina a 6 gradi di libertà completamente progettata e costruita presso il Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica ed Aerospaziale del Politecnico di Torino, in collaborazione con un esperto gruppo di medici. I risultati derivanti dalle prove preliminari sono molto buoni

Rehabilitation and Pneumatics for Smart Quality of Life (SQOL) at Politecnico di Torino

This paper illustrates the design and the testing of innovative devices developed at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of Politecnico di Torino for smart quality of life: two mechatronic prototypes, called P.I.G.R.O. (Pneumatic Interactive Gait Rehabilitation Orthosis) and Bra.Di.P.O. (Brain Discovery Pneumatic Orthosis), for robotic neurorehabilitation and for motor training assessment; pneumatic muscles to implement active suits and rehabilitation devices; massage sleeve for pressure therapy on patients suffering from lymph edema

A structured physical activity program in an adolescent population with overweight and obesity: a prospective interventional study

Obesity is a significant health problem, with increasing involvement of young population worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different types of physical exercise (resistance vs combined aerobic-resistance) on cardiovascular and anthropometric profile of a sample of sedentary adolescents with overweight and obesity