Walking assistance of subjects with spinal cord injury with an ankle exoskeleton and neuromuscular controller

M. Arquilla, I. Pisotta, F. Tamburella, N. L. Tagliamonte*, M. Masciullo, A. R. Wu, C. Meijneke, H. van der Kooij, A. J. Ijspeert, M. Molinari

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

Abstract

This work was devoted to preliminary test the Achilles ankle exoskeleton and its NeuroMuscular Controller (NMC) with a test pilot affected by incomplete spinal cord injury. The customization of the robot controller, i.e. a subject-specific tailoring of the assistance level, was performed and a 10-session training to optimize human-robot interaction was finalized. Results demonstrated that controller tuning was in line with the functional clinical assessment. NMC adapted to the variable walking speed during the training and the test pilot was successfully trained in exploiting robotic support and also improved his performance in terms of walking speed and stability. After the training, a higher speed could also be achieved during free walking and hence a slight unexpected rehabilitation effect was evidenced.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWearable Robotics: Challenges and Trends
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Wearable Robotics, WeRob2018
EditorsMC Carrozza, JL Pons, S Micera
PublisherSpringer
Pages304-308
Volume22
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-030-01887-0
ISBN (Print)978-3-030-01886-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
EventInternational Symposium on Wearable Robotics, WeRob2018 - Pisa, Italy
Duration: 16 Oct 201820 Oct 2018
Conference number: 4

Publication series

NameBiosystems and Biorobotics
Volume22
ISSN (Print)2195-3562
ISSN (Electronic)2195-3570

Conference

ConferenceInternational Symposium on Wearable Robotics, WeRob2018
Abbreviated titleWeRob2018
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityPisa
Period16/10/1820/10/18

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