Human-Robot Joint Misalignment, Physical Interaction, and Gait Kinematic Assessment in Ankle-Foot Orthoses.

ABSTRACT: Lower limb exoskeletons and orthoses have been increasingly used to assist the user during gait rehabilitation through torque transmission and motor stability. However, the physical human-robot interface (HRi) has not been properly addressed. Current orthoses lead to spurious forces at the HRi that cause adverse effects and high abandonment rates. This study aims to assess and compare, in a holistic approach, human-robot joint misalignment and gait kinematics in three fixation designs of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs). These are AFOs with a frontal shin guard (F-AFO), lateral shin guard (L-AFO), and the ankle modulus of the H2 exoskeleton (H2-AFO). An experimental protocol was implemented to assess misalignment, fixation displacement, pressure interactions, user-perceived comfort, and gait kin

SUBMITTER: Andrade RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10781370 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature