Rehabilitative Soft Exoskeleton for Rodents
Copyright policy )Rehabilitative Soft Exoskeleton for Rodents
Robotic exoskeletons provide programmable, consistent and controllable active therapeutic assistance to patients with neurological disorders. Here we introduce a prototype and preliminary experimental evaluation of a rehabilitative gait exoskeleton that enables compliant yet effective manipulation of the fragile limbs of rats. To assist the displacements of the lower limbs without impeding natural gait movements, we designed and fabricated soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs). The exoskeleton integrates two customizable SPAs that are attached to a limb. This configuration enables a 1 N force load, a range of motion exceeding 80 mm in the major axis, and speed of actuation reaching two gait cycles/s. Preliminary experiments in rats with spinal cord injury validated the basic features of the exoskeleton. We propose strategies to improve the performance of the robot and discuss the potential of SPAs for the design of other wearable interfaces.
- University of Geneva Switzerland
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL Switzerland
- Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies Italy
Exoskeleton Device / veterinary, Neurological Rehabilitation / instrumentation, Robotics / instrumentation, Artificial Limbs, Pilot Projects, Sensitivity and Specificity, Elastic Modulus, Animals, Gait Disorders, Neurologic / physiopathology, Equipment Design / veterinary, Gait Disorders, Neurologic, Artificial Limbs / veterinary, Gait Disorders, Neurologic / rehabilitation, Neurological Rehabilitation, Reproducibility of Results, Equipment Design, Robotics, Exoskeleton Device, Rats, Equipment Failure Analysis, Treatment Outcome, Rats, Inbred Lew, Lower limb exoskeleton; rehabilitation robotics; soft pneumatic actuators; soft robotic interface; soft robotics; wearable robotics; Animals; Artificial Limbs; Elastic Modulus; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Exoskeleton Device; Feasibility Studies; Female; Gait Disorders, Neurologic; Neurological Rehabilitation; Pilot Projects; Rats; Rats, Inbred Lew; Reproducibility of Results; Robotics; Sensitivity and Specificity; Treatment Outcome; Neuroscience (all); Biomedical Engineering; Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Feasibility Studies, Gait Disorders, Neurologic / diagnosis, Female
Exoskeleton Device / veterinary, Neurological Rehabilitation / instrumentation, Robotics / instrumentation, Artificial Limbs, Pilot Projects, Sensitivity and Specificity, Elastic Modulus, Animals, Gait Disorders, Neurologic / physiopathology, Equipment Design / veterinary, Gait Disorders, Neurologic, Artificial Limbs / veterinary, Gait Disorders, Neurologic / rehabilitation, Neurological Rehabilitation, Reproducibility of Results, Equipment Design, Robotics, Exoskeleton Device, Rats, Equipment Failure Analysis, Treatment Outcome, Rats, Inbred Lew, Lower limb exoskeleton; rehabilitation robotics; soft pneumatic actuators; soft robotic interface; soft robotics; wearable robotics; Animals; Artificial Limbs; Elastic Modulus; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Exoskeleton Device; Feasibility Studies; Female; Gait Disorders, Neurologic; Neurological Rehabilitation; Pilot Projects; Rats; Rats, Inbred Lew; Reproducibility of Results; Robotics; Sensitivity and Specificity; Treatment Outcome; Neuroscience (all); Biomedical Engineering; Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Feasibility Studies, Gait Disorders, Neurologic / diagnosis, Female
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