Investigating musculoskeletal implications of wearing a soft exosuit

Abstract

Background: Research about lower limb exoskeletons has increased a lot over the years. The exoskeleton has been designed to enhance gait abilities in healthy individuals, elders and patients with gait disorders. Among the available exoskeletons, researches at Harvard are pioneering a new class of devices, described as soft lower-extremity robotic exosuits. Considering the encouraging and promising results of the exosuit to date, and the complexity of the locomotor system using this device from a biomechanical point of view, it suggests the need to conduct further analysis.Objectives: to analyze the kinematic of the lower limb, and to analyze muscle activity by means of sEMG activity of the lower limbs during the gait in healthy individuals carrying a load and wearing the exosuit.Methods: Twenty healthy experienced load carriers will be assessed. The participants will be asked to walk on a treadmill as well overground and on uneven terrains. Participants will be walking at different ranges of walking speed in the range of 1.2-1.8 m/s while carrying load ranging from 30% to 50% of their body weight. Kinematic data of the lower limb during the gait will be collect, and after it will be processed by PCA. Moreover, signal sEMG will be analyzed to following muscles: gastrocnemius medialis, soleus, tibialis anterior, gluteos maximus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and biceps femoris. Differences among the test conditions during the gait will be compared. Differences will be assumed significant when p<0.05.Expect results: To provide a deeper understanding of how human subjects load carriers interact with wearable robotic systems, and help to quantify the biomechanical effects of assistance with a lower extremity soft exosuit. (AU)