VIGOR: A Versatile, Individualized and Generative ORchestrator to Motivate the Movement of the People with Limited Mobility

Physical inactivity is a major national concern, particularly among individuals with chronic conditions and/or disabilities. There is an urgent need to devise practical and innovative fitness methods, designed and grounded in physical, psychological and social considerations that will effectively promote physical fitness participation among individuals of all age groups with chronic health condition(s) and/or disabilities. This research is dedicated to achieving Versatile, Individualized, and Generative ORchestrator (VIGOR) to motivate the movement of the people with limited mobility. Tai-Chi is a traditional mind–body wellness and healing art, and its clinical benefits have been well documented. This work presents a Tai-Chi based VIGOR under development. Through the use of Helping, Pushing and Coaching (HPC) functions by following Tai-Chi kinematics, the VIGOR system is designed to make engagement in physical activity an affordable, individually engaging, and enjoyable experience for individuals who live with mobility due to disease or injury. VIGOR consists of the following major modules: (1) seamless human-machine interaction based on the acquisition, transmission, and reconstruction of 4D data (XYZ plus somatosensory) using affordable I/O instruments such as Kinect, Sensor and Tactile actuator, and active-orthosis/exoskeleton; (2) processing and normalization of kinetic data; (3) Identification and grading of kinetics in real time; (4) adaptive virtual limb generation and its reconstruction on virtual reality (VR) or active-orthosis/exoskeleton; and (5) individualized physical activity choreography (i.e., creative movement design). Aiming at developing a deep-learning-enabled rehab and fitness modality through infusing the domain knowledge (physical therapy, medical anthropology, psychology, electrical engineering, bio-mechanics, and athletic aesthetics) into deep neural network, this work is transformative in that the technology can be applied to the broad research areas of intelligent systems, human-computer interaction, and cyber-physical human systems. The resulting VIGOR has significant potentials as both rehabilitative and fitness modalities and can be adapted to other movement modalities and chronic medical conditions (e.g., yoga and balance exercise; fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease).

Active Assistive Orthotic System

Active orthosis (exoskeleton) is an assistive device with a wearable structure, corresponding to the natural motions of the human. This chapter focuses on developing an active/assistive orthosis system (AOS) enhancing movement. The AOS design is inspired by the biological musculoskeletal system of human upper and lower limbs and mimics the muscle-tendon-ligament structure. The exoskeleton structure includes left and right upper limb, left and right lower limb, and central exoskeleton structure for human torso and waist and provides support, balance, and control of different segments of the body. The device was fabricated with light materials and powered by pneumatic artificial muscles that provide more than fifteen degrees of freedom for the different joints. The active orthotic systems (AOS) can operate in three modes: motion tracking system with data exchange with virtual reality; haptic and rehabilitation device; and assistive mode with active orthosis in cases of impaired muscles.

Projeto e Análise de Desempenho de um Atuador Elástico em Série Compacto para Exoesqueletos

Neste artigo é projetado e analisado um Atuador Elástico em Série compacto e leve que será utilizado para acionar as juntas do exoesqueleto modular de membros inferiores Exo-TAO (Transparent Active Orthosis), existente no Laboratório de Reabilitação Robótica da EESC/USP. Este equipamento está sendo desenvolvido para auxiliar na reabilitação de pessoas com deficiência motoras decorrentes de lesões no sistema nervoso central ou medulares que afetam a mobilidade. O diferencial do atuador proposto é a utilização de uma mola torcional personalizada e compacta, proporcionando os níveis de torque e velocidade necessários para o acionamento do exoesqueleto. Tais níveis de desempenho foram avaliados considerando as características dos componentes selecionados e os padrões de marchadisponíveis na literatura.

DESIGN AND MYOELECTRIC CONTROL OF AN ACTIVE ORTHOSIS DEVICE USING FINITE STATE MACHINE ALGORITHM

This paper presents a novel myoelectric controlled active hip-knee-ankle-foot orthosis (A-HKAFO) designed to assist lower limb disorders. The proposed orthosis device2 consists of a polypropylene shell and a metal hinge joint, is designed to help patients during gait rehabilitation after neurological injury, and assist people who have difficulty walking3 due to obesity, sports injuries. The system also can use4 for studying human gait biomechanics5. A myoelectric control law strategy is proposed using a finite state machine (FSM) method. The algorithm is activated by users’ intend to forward or backward stepping6. The electromyogram (EMG) signals from lower limb7 and device motion data were8 used for the control of A-HKAFO. In order to determine the last location of the user after movement, physical feedback is utilized from the mechanical system.

A Concept Design of an Adaptive Tendon Driven Mechanism for Active Soft Hand Orthosis

The Hands exert a vital role in the simplest to most complex daily tasks. Losing the ability to make hand movements, which is usually caused by spinal cord injury or stroke, dramatically impacts the quality of life. In order to counteract this problem, several assisting devices have been proposed, but they still present several usage limitations. The marketable orthoses are generally either the static type or over-expensive active orthosis that cannot perform the same degrees of freedom (DoF) that a hand can do. This paper presents a conceptual design of a tendon-driven mechanism for hand’s active orthosis. This study is a part of an effort to develop an effective and low-cost hand’s orthosis for people with hand paralysis. The tendon design proposed was thought to comply with some requisitions such as lightness and low volume, as well as fit with the biomechanical constraints of the hand joints to enable a comfortable use. The mechanism employs small cursors on the phalanges to allow the tendons to run on the dorsal side and by both sides of the fingers, allowing 2 DoF for each finger, and one extra tendon enlarges the hands’ adduction nuances. With this configuration, it is simple enough to execute the flexion and extension movements, which are the most used movements in daily actives, using one single DC actuator for one DoF to reduce manufacturing costs, or with more DC actuators to enable more natural hand coordination. This system of actuation is suitable to create soft exoskeletons for hands easily embedded into 3D printed parts, which could be merged over statics thermoplastic orthosis. The final orthosis design allows dexterous finger movements and force to grasp objects and perform tasks comfortably.