A robot for gait rehabilitation

After a stroke, persons suffer from neurological impairments that affect gait, and so require rehabilitation to regain ambulatory function. While 82% of patients recover the ability to walk, current methods including physiotherapy and partial body-weight supported treadmill training (PBWSTT) are monotonous and require intense therapist effort. The Mechanized Gait Trainer and the LOKOMAT are two robotic devices that have been developed to improve gait rehabilitation, but neither provides the facilitation of pelvis movements afforded by traditional methods. In addition, neither device is truly backdrivable. As shown by Hogan and Krebs, backdrivable, impedance-controlled robots are ideal for rehabilitation because of their stable interaction properties. Robots for the arm/shoulder, wrist, ankle, and hand have already been developed. This thesis describes the design of a robot for gait rehabilitation through the facilitation of pelvis movements. Four degrees of freedom (DOF) are actuated: vertical, lateral, and frontal translations as well as the rotation about the vertical axis. Vertical forces support part of the patient's weight. Lateral forces assist the weight shift from stance leg to swing leg and are a part of physiotherapy and treadmill training.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Roberts, Michael (Michael Henry), 1980-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Herman Igo Krebs.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34562

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34562