Design, Control, and Assessment of a Synergy-Based Exosuit for Patients with Gait-Associated Pathologies
Ashwin Jayakumar,
Javier Bermejo-García,
Daniel Rodríguez Jorge,
Rafael Agujetas,
Francisco Romero-Sánchez,
Francisco J. Alonso-Sánchez
Affiliations
Ashwin Jayakumar
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Javier Bermejo-García
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Daniel Rodríguez Jorge
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Rafael Agujetas
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Francisco Romero-Sánchez
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Francisco J. Alonso-Sánchez
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
With ever-rising population comes a corresponding rise in people with mobility issues who have difficulty handling tasks in their daily lives. Such persons could benefit significantly from an active movement assistance device. This paper presents the design of a lower-limb exosuit designed to provide the wearer with useful gait assistance. While exoskeletons have existed for a while, soft exoskeletons or exosuits are relatively new. One challenge in the design of a gait-assistance device is the reduction of device weight. In order to facilitate this, the concept of kinematic synergies is implemented to reduce the number of actuators. In this prototype, the exosuit can actuate the hip, ankle, and knee of both legs using just one single motor, and a transmission system consisting of gears and clutches. The implementation of these synergies and their advantages are detailed in this paper, as well as preliminary tests to assess performance. This was performed by testing the exosuit worn by a subject on a treadmill while taking EMG readings and measuring cable tension produced. Significant reductions by up to 35% in certain muscle activations were observed, demonstrating the validity of this prototype for gait assistance.
