Robotic rehabilitation

  • LegoPress, sitting position lower limb flexion-extension trainer
  • MotionMaker, sitting position lower limb hip-knee-ankle trainer
  • WalkTrainer, verticalized overground gait trainer
  • StimWave, Electrical stimulator for FES.

Current projects

LegoPress

LegoPress is a Leg-Press robotic trainer. It is well described in [Olivier, 2014]. The LegoPress targets flexion-extension exercises for lower limbs while the subject is in a sitting position. It easily allows to adjust the seat position and inclination of the patient and has two motorized axes that are independently actuated to mobilize the patient’s feet. Each foot is instrumented with sensors to measure the position and tension-compression forces.

 

J. Olivier, M. Jeanneret, M. Bouri, and H. Bleuler, “The LegoPress: A Rehabilitation, Performance Assessment and Training Device Mechanical Design and Control” in Haptics: Neuroscience, Devices, Modeling and Applications, 2014.

 

 

Previous projects

MotionMaker

The MotionMaker is a sitting position rehabilitation device, which mobilizes the lower limbs  [Metraillet, 2006] [Bouri, 2014]. It is an hybrid device which combines pure lower limb mobilization (position control loop) and a functional electrostimulation (FES) with force closed loop control.

 

 

14 muscles are used in total, 7 for each leg. The RF (Rectus Femoris), the VM and VL (Vastus Medialis and Lateralis), the obtained results have proved the possibility to follow an isotonic torque command during an isokinetic knee extension by closed loop electrical stimulation

It is based on two leg orthosis. Thanks to a screw based transmission and a crank mechanism, each leg orthosis allows the mobilization of the hip, the knee and the ankle joints. Each joint is instrumented with a force sensor at the extremity of the screw for safety and control purposes.

 

 

Metrailler et al., “Improvement of rehabilitation possibilities with the MotionMaker”, BioRob 2006.,

Bouri et al., “Lower Limbs Robotic Rehabilitation Case Study with Clinical Trials,” in New Trends in Medical and Service Robots, Springer, 2014.

 

 

WalkTrainer

The WalkTrainer is a verticalized rehabilitation device. It fully supports an overground walking. It takes advantage of fully the following actuated orthoses:

– Left and right leg orthoses, actuated at the hip, knee and ankle.
– 6 Degrees of freedom pelvic orthosis.
– Active body weight support.

The WalkTrainer combines a gait generator that uses predefined and configurable walking trajectories and a closed loop controlled electrostimulation . The electrostimulation targets to minimize the interaction forces between the leg orthoses and the limbs.

 

Stauffer et al., “The WalkTrainer. A New Generation of Walking Reeducation Device Combining Orthoses and Muscle Stimulation,” IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 2009.

 

The electrostimulator STIMWAVE

 

 

The StimWave is a custom electrostimulator, developed by our laboratory. It generates up to 100 mA simple periodic current pulses. The signal frequency is adjustable from 10 to 85 Hz and the pulse width from 100 to 300 microseconds.