Mechanical Method for Rapid Determination of Step Count Sensor Settings

With the increased push for personalized medicine, researchers and clinicians have begun exploring the use of wearable sensors to track patient activity. These sensors typically prioritize device life over robust onboard analysis, which results in lower accuracies in step count, particularly at lower cadences. To optimize the accuracy of activity-monitoring devices, particularly at slower walking speeds, proven methods must be established to identify suitable settings in a controlled and repeatable manner prior to human validation trials. Currently, there are no methods for optimizing these low-power wearable sensor settings prior to human validation, which requires manual counting for in-laboratory participants and is limited by time and the cadences that can be tested. This article proposes a novel method for determining sensor step counting accuracy prior to human validation trials by using a mechanical camshaft actuator that produces continuous steps. Sensor error was identified across a representative subspace of possible sensor setting combinations at cadences ranging from 30 steps/min to 110 steps/min. These true errors were then used to train a multivariate polynomial regression to model errors across all possible setting combinations and cadences. The resulting model predicted errors with an R2 of 0.8 and root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.044 across all setting combinations. An optimization algorithm was then used to determine the combinations of settings that produced the lowest RMSE and median error for three ranges of cadence that represent disabled low-mobility ambulators, disabled high-mobility ambulators, and healthy ambulators (30–60, 20–90, and 30–110 steps/min, respectively). The model identified six setting combinations for each range of interest that achieved a ±10% error in cadence prior to human validation. The anticipated range of errors from the optimized settings at lower walking speeds are lower than the reported errors of wearable sensors (±30%), suggesting that pre-human-validation optimization of sensors may decrease errors at lower cadences. This method provides a novel and efficient approach to optimizing the accuracy of wearable activity monitors prior to human validation trials

A Highway Test of Gasohol

Tests were conducted using two 1976 Ford Torinos in which the fuel economy using gasohol was compared with that obtained using unleaded gasoline. It was found that gasohoI gave 3% fewer miles per gallon than the unleaded gasoline under typical summer highway driving conditions in North Dakota. This difference was found to be statistically significant at the 99% level of confidence. The reduced fuel economy with gasohol appears to be directly proportional to the lower energy content of gasohol

Ankle mechanics during sidestep cutting implicates need for 2-degrees of freedom powered ankle-foot prostheses

© 2015, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service. All rights reserved. The ankle joint of currently available powered prostheses is capable of controlling one degree of freedom (DOF), focusing on improved mobility in the sagittal plane. To increase agility, the requirements of turning in prosthesis design need to be considered. Ankle kinematics and kinetics were studied during sidestep cutting and straight walking. There were no significant differences between the ankle sagittal plane mechanics when comparing sidestep cutting and straight walking; however, significant differences were observed in ankle frontal plane mechanics. During straight walking, the inversion-eversion (IE) angles were smaller than with sidestep cutting. The ankle that initiated the sidestep cutting showed progressively increasing inversion from 2 to 13 degrees while the following contralateral step showed progressively decreasing inversion from 8 to 4 degrees during normal walking speed. The changes in IE kinematics were the most significant during sidestep cutting compared with straight walking. The IE moments of the step that initiated the sidestep cutting were always in eversion, acting as a braking moment opposing the inverting motion. This suggests that an ankle-foot prosthesis with active DOFs in the sagittal and frontal planes will increase the agility of gait for patients with limb loss

A two-axis cable-driven ankle-foot mechanism

© 2014 Ficanha et al.; licensee Springer. This paper describes a novel cable-driven ankle-foot mechanism with two controllable degrees of freedom (DOF) in dorsiflexion-plantarflexion (DP) and inversion-eversion (IE). The presented mechanism is a proof of concept to demonstrate feasibility. Ankle kinematic measurements demonstrate that ankle IE rotations during a step turn are significantly different from walking on a straight path. This suggests that the ankle-foot mechanisms used in prostheses, exoskeletons, and bipedal robots can be improved by controlling a second degree of freedom in the frontal plane. The proposed prototype mechanism is described in detail, and its design considerations and parameters are presented. The mechanism is capable of producing trajectories similar to the human ankle during a step turn. The device shows passive mechanical impedance close to the human ankle mechanical impedance, allowing its mechanical impedance to be controlled using an impedance controller. The presented mechanism is capable of providing key mechanical characteristics similar to the human ankle, including power, range of motion, and weight, suggesting the feasibility of this design concept

Control of a 2-DOF powered ankle-foot mechanism

© 2015 IEEE. This paper describes a finite state machine to control an ankle-foot prosthesis with two degrees of freedom (DOF) in the sagittal and frontal planes. Strain gauges were installed in the foot to provide ground reaction torques feedback for impedance and admittance controllers to be used at heel-strike and push-off of the gait, respectively. The quasi-static stiffness of the ankle with the active control was measured showing a near linear relationship between the torque feedback gain and the stiffness of the ankle. The performance of the finite state machine and controllers were also evaluated using a custom-made circular treadmill and the results were compared to the results of the prosthesis using position controller and inactive controllers. The results showed that the impedance/admittance controller was capable of tracking the desired input trajectory while decreasing the required torque at the ankle joint