TY - JOUR
T1 - Vertical ground reaction force-based analysis of powered exoskeleton-assisted walking in persons with motor-complete paraplegia
AU - Fineberg, Drew B.
AU - Asselin, Pierre
AU - Harel, Noam Y.
AU - Agranova-Breyter, Irina
AU - Kornfeld, Stephen D.
AU - Bauman, William A.
AU - Spungen, Ann M.
PY - 2013/7
Y1 - 2013/7
N2 - Objective: To use vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) to show the magnitude and pattern of mechanical loading in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during powered exoskeleton-assisted walking. Research design: A cross-sectional study was performed to analyze vGRF during powered exoskeletonassisted walking (ReWalk™: Argo Medical Technologies, Inc, Marlborough, MA, USA) compared with vGRF of able-bodied gait. Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants: Six persons with thoracic motor-complete SCI (T1-T11 AIS A/B) and three age-, height-, weightand gender-matched able-bodied volunteers participated. Interventions: SCI participants were trained to ambulate over ground using a ReWalk™. vGRF was recorded using the F-Scan™ system (TekScan, Boston, MA, USA). Outcome measures: Peak stance average (PSA) was computed fromvGRF and normalized across all participants by percent body weight. Peak vGRF was determined for heel strike, mid-stance, and toe-off. Relative linear impulse and harmonic analysis provided quantitative support for analysis of powered exoskeletal gait. Results: Participants with motor-complete SCI, ambulating independently with a ReWalk™, demonstrated mechanical loading magnitudes and patterns similar to able-bodied gait. Harmonic analysis of PSA profile by Fourier transform contrasted frequency of stance phase gait components between able-bodied and powered exoskeleton-assisted walking. Conclusion: Powered exoskeleton-assisted walking in persons with motor-complete SCI generated vGRF similar in magnitude and pattern to that of able-bodied walking. This suggests the potential for powered exoskeletonassisted walking to provide a mechanism for mechanical loading to the lower extremities. vGRF profile can be used to examine both magnitude of loading and gait mechanics of powered exoskeleton-assisted walking among participants of different weight, gait speed, and level of assist.
AB - Objective: To use vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) to show the magnitude and pattern of mechanical loading in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during powered exoskeleton-assisted walking. Research design: A cross-sectional study was performed to analyze vGRF during powered exoskeletonassisted walking (ReWalk™: Argo Medical Technologies, Inc, Marlborough, MA, USA) compared with vGRF of able-bodied gait. Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants: Six persons with thoracic motor-complete SCI (T1-T11 AIS A/B) and three age-, height-, weightand gender-matched able-bodied volunteers participated. Interventions: SCI participants were trained to ambulate over ground using a ReWalk™. vGRF was recorded using the F-Scan™ system (TekScan, Boston, MA, USA). Outcome measures: Peak stance average (PSA) was computed fromvGRF and normalized across all participants by percent body weight. Peak vGRF was determined for heel strike, mid-stance, and toe-off. Relative linear impulse and harmonic analysis provided quantitative support for analysis of powered exoskeletal gait. Results: Participants with motor-complete SCI, ambulating independently with a ReWalk™, demonstrated mechanical loading magnitudes and patterns similar to able-bodied gait. Harmonic analysis of PSA profile by Fourier transform contrasted frequency of stance phase gait components between able-bodied and powered exoskeleton-assisted walking. Conclusion: Powered exoskeleton-assisted walking in persons with motor-complete SCI generated vGRF similar in magnitude and pattern to that of able-bodied walking. This suggests the potential for powered exoskeletonassisted walking to provide a mechanism for mechanical loading to the lower extremities. vGRF profile can be used to examine both magnitude of loading and gait mechanics of powered exoskeleton-assisted walking among participants of different weight, gait speed, and level of assist.
KW - Assistive technology
KW - F-scan™ tekscan
KW - Fourier series
KW - Mechanical loading
KW - Paraplegia
KW - ReWalk™
KW - Rehabilitation
KW - Robotic-assisted exoskeletal device
KW - Spinal cord injury
KW - Vertical ground reaction force
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84880833180&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1179/2045772313Y.0000000126
DO - 10.1179/2045772313Y.0000000126
M3 - Article
C2 - 23820147
AN - SCOPUS:84880833180
SN - 1079-0268
VL - 36
SP - 313
EP - 321
JO - Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
JF - Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
IS - 4
ER -