Realization of human gait in virtual fluid environment on a robotic gait trainer for therapeutic purposes

Date

2018-7

Author

Ertop, Tayfun Efe
Yuksel, Tolga
Konukseven, Erhan İlhan

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

202
views

0
downloads

Patients with disorders such as spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy and stroke can perform full gait when assisted, which progressively helps them regain the ability to walk. A very common way to create assistive effects is aquatic therapy. Aquatic environment also creates resistive effects desired for strength building. In this study, realization of a virtual fluid environment on a robotic gait trainer is presented as an alternative method. A model was created to determine torques and forces acting on the human body while performing gait in a fluid environment. The developed model was implemented on a robotic gait trainer. By adjusting the virtual fluid model parameters, precise control over assistive and resistive effects during gait was achieved without enforcing any pre-defined gait pattern. The real-time gait phase information required by the fluid model to determine torques was provided with a developed algorithm which only uses kinematic gait data. Experiments with healthy subjects were done using the robotic gait trainer to verify the gait phase algorithm, and to compare gait characteristics obtained in virtual land and water environments with the literature. Additional experiments were performed with the robotic system to assess effects of changing fluid model parameters to healthy subject gait characteristics. The results show that force and torque effects of virtual fluid environment on robotic gait trainer were achieved. The gait phase algorithm was shown to provide smooth transition between phases. Also, significant changes in gait characteristics were observed by modifying fluid model parameters.

Subject Keywords

Robotics, Rehabilitation, Assistive, Medical, Aquatic therapy, Locomotor training

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/28578

Journal

Robotics and Autonomous Systems

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2018.02.012

Collections

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Article

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Realization of virtual fluid environment on a robotic gait trainer for therapeutic purposes Ertop, Tayfun Efe; Konukseven, Erhan İlhan; Koku, Ahmet Buğra; Department of Mechanical Engineering (2017) Patients with disorders such as spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy and stroke can perform full gait when assisted, which progressively helps them regain the ability to walk. A very common way to create assistive effects is aquatic therapy. Aquatic environment also creates resistive effects desired for increasing muscle activity. Simulating the fluid environment using a robotic system would enable therapists to adjust various fluid parameters so that the therapy is tailored to each patient’s unique state. In...
Effects of robot-assisted gait training in chronic stroke patients treated by botulinum toxin-a: A pivotal study Erbil, Dursun; Tugba, Gokbel; Murat, Topcu Hasan; Melike, Akarsu; Merve, Akyuez; Cagla, Karacan; Mehmetali, Ciftci Can; Akay, Ozturk; DURSUN, NİGAR (Wiley, 2018-07-01) ObjectiveTo investigate combined effects of robot-assisted training (RAT) and physical therapy versus physical therapy only on balance and gait function of chronic stroke patients after botulinum toxin-A (BoNT-A) treatment.
Tissue Engineered, Guided Nerve Tube Consisting of Aligned Neural Stem Cells and Astrocytes Yucel, Deniz; Kose, Gamze Torun; Hasırcı, Vasıf Nejat (2010-12-01) Injury of the nervous system, particularly in the spinal cord, impairs the quality of life of the patient by resulting in permanent loss of neurologic function. The main limitation in spinal cord regeneration is the lack of extracellular matrix to guide nerves for functional recovery of the transected nerve tissue. In the present study, a tissue engineered nerve tube was prepared by wrapping neural stem cells (NSCs) on aligned fibers using a micropatterned film with astrocytes aligned along the microgrooves...
INVESTIGATION OF INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED CYP2E1 AND CYP1A1 EXPRESSION IN THE EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS MOUSE MODEL OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Solak, Damla; Adalı, Orhan; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (2023-1-27) Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disease which affects brain and spinal cord. Myelin which wraps around the axon and its progenitor cells, oligodendrocytes, are destroyed in this disease. This results in the loss of signal transmission which leads to axonal, and eventually neuronal loss. There are various symptoms of the disease such as unstable feelings, fatigue, visual disability, muscle spasms, and walking difficulties. The etiology of the disease is still in its infancy; howeve...
Design of a modular orthopedic implant Erkan, Onur Mert; Tönük, Ergin; Department of Mechanical Engineering (2015) Bone fracture due to trauma and bone defects by birth are very common in orthopedics, making their treatment crucial. In this study, a novel design to treat upper arm fractures is introduced and assessed mechanically. The design offers medical doctors longitudinal and angular flexibility when compared to widely used orthopedic plates. Hence the new design covers a variety of fracture types. Earlier conceptual designs are reviewed to demonstrate the progress of design. Mechanical performance of the final des...

Citation Formats

T. E. Ertop, T. Yuksel, and E. İ. Konukseven, “Realization of human gait in virtual fluid environment on a robotic gait trainer for therapeutic purposes,” Robotics and Autonomous Systems, pp. 59–68, 2018, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/28578.