{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/98433"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/98433","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Pneumatic ergonomic crutches","abstract":"Long-term crutch users utilize Lofstrand crutches for locomotion commonly using swing-through or reciprocal gait patterns. Repetitive high forces, hyperextension and ulnar deviation of the wrist, and excessive palmar pressure compressing the median nerve associated with crutch walking have reported to cause discomfort, joint pain, wrist strain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other serious injuries. To address these issues, we developed the pneumatic ergonomic crutches (PEC) that consisted of a pneumatic sleeve orthosis, an energy harvesting system and an energy storage system. The pneumatic sleeve orthosis utilized a soft pneumatic actuator, called fiber-reinforced elastomeric enclosure, coiled around the forearm and secured to the cuff. In the first study, sleeve orthosis performance was examined. Human subject testing indicated significantly improved wrist posture, increased loading sharing to the cuff, reduced and redirected palmar pressure while using the orthosis. In the second study, the fully-developed PEC was presented. The PEC utilized an energy harvesting piston pump to collect pneumatic energy during crutch gait. The collected pneumatic energy was stored into a pneumatic elastomeric accumulator (PEA) inside the crutch shaft, which can be used to inflate the sleeve orthosis to make a self-contained crutch system. We optimized dimensions and specifications of the piston pump and the PEA to minimize the number of gait cycles used to charge the PEA to a target pressure that can be used to fully charge the sleeve orthosis. Bench-top testing was conducted on the PEC and demonstrated the ability of charging the sleeve orthosis using air stored in the PEA after 38 gait cycles. Protocols for future human subject testing to evaluate the system performance of the PEC were also presented.","abstract_html":"Long-term crutch users utilize Lofstrand crutches for locomotion commonly using swing-through or reciprocal gait patterns. Repetitive high forces, hyperextension and ulnar deviation of the wrist, and excessive palmar pressure compressing the median nerve associated with crutch walking have reported to cause discomfort, joint pain, wrist strain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other serious injuries. To address these issues, we developed the pneumatic ergonomic crutches (PEC) that consisted of a pneumatic sleeve orthosis, an energy harvesting system and an energy storage system. The pneumatic sleeve orthosis utilized a soft pneumatic actuator, called fiber-reinforced elastomeric enclosure, coiled around the forearm and secured to the cuff. In the first study, sleeve orthosis performance was examined. Human subject testing indicated significantly improved wrist posture, increased loading sharing to the cuff, reduced and redirected palmar pressure while using the orthosis. In the second study, the fully-developed PEC was presented. The PEC utilized an energy harvesting piston pump to collect pneumatic energy during crutch gait. The collected pneumatic energy was stored into a pneumatic elastomeric accumulator (PEA) inside the crutch shaft, which can be used to inflate the sleeve orthosis to make a self-contained crutch system. We optimized dimensions and specifications of the piston pump and the PEA to minimize the number of gait cycles used to charge the PEA to a target pressure that can be used to fully charge the sleeve orthosis. Bench-top testing was conducted on the PEC and demonstrated the ability of charging the sleeve orthosis using air stored in the PEA after 38 gait cycles. Protocols for future human subject testing to evaluate the system performance of the PEC were also presented.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Xiao, Chenzhang"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hsiao-Wecksler, Elizabeth T."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-09-29T17:57:11Z","date_published":"2017-09-29T17:57:11Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:35Z","subjects":["Biomechanics","Crutch gait","Assistive device","Soft robotic actuator","Energy harvesting"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2017 Chenzhang Xiao"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/98433","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hsiao-Wecksler, Elizabeth T."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Xiao, Chenzhang"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2017-09-29T17:57:11Z","2017-07-20","2017-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Biomechanics","Crutch gait","Assistive device","Soft robotic actuator","Energy harvesting"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2017 Chenzhang Xiao"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/98433"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Long-term crutch users utilize Lofstrand crutches for locomotion commonly using swing-through or reciprocal gait patterns. Repetitive high forces, hyperextension and ulnar deviation of the wrist, and excessive palmar pressure compressing the median nerve associated with crutch walking have reported to cause discomfort, joint pain, wrist strain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other serious injuries. To address these issues, we developed the pneumatic ergonomic crutches (PEC) that consisted of a pneumatic sleeve orthosis, an energy harvesting system and an energy storage system. The pneumatic sleeve orthosis utilized a soft pneumatic actuator, called fiber-reinforced elastomeric enclosure, coiled around the forearm and secured to the cuff. In the first study, sleeve orthosis performance was examined. Human subject testing indicated significantly improved wrist posture, increased loading sharing to the cuff, reduced and redirected palmar pressure while using the orthosis. In the second study, the fully-developed PEC was presented. The PEC utilized an energy harvesting piston pump to collect pneumatic energy during crutch gait. The collected pneumatic energy was stored into a pneumatic elastomeric accumulator (PEA) inside the crutch shaft, which can be used to inflate the sleeve orthosis to make a self-contained crutch system. We optimized dimensions and specifications of the piston pump and the PEA to minimize the number of gait cycles used to charge the PEA to a target pressure that can be used to fully charge the sleeve orthosis. Bench-top testing was conducted on the PEC and demonstrated the ability of charging the sleeve orthosis using air stored in the PEA after 38 gait cycles. Protocols for future human subject testing to evaluate the system performance of the PEC were also presented.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2017-09-29 without embargo terms","The student, Chenzhang Xiao, accepted the attached license on 2017-07-20 at 11:15.","The student, Chenzhang Xiao, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2017-07-20 at 11:23.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2017-07-20 at 16:11.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11548 on 2017-09-29 at 11:32:23","Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T17:57:11Z (GMT). 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Repetitive high forces, hyperextension and ulnar deviation of the wrist, and excessive palmar pressure compressing the median nerve associated with crutch walking have reported to cause discomfort, joint pain, wrist strain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other serious injuries. To address these issues, we developed the pneumatic ergonomic crutches (PEC) that consisted of a pneumatic sleeve orthosis, an energy harvesting system and an energy storage system. The pneumatic sleeve orthosis utilized a soft pneumatic actuator, called fiber-reinforced elastomeric enclosure, coiled around the forearm and secured to the cuff. In the first study, sleeve orthosis performance was examined. Human subject testing indicated significantly improved wrist posture, increased loading sharing to the cuff, reduced and redirected palmar pressure while using the orthosis. In the second study, the fully-developed PEC was presented. The PEC utilized an energy harvesting piston pump to collect pneumatic energy during crutch gait. The collected pneumatic energy was stored into a pneumatic elastomeric accumulator (PEA) inside the crutch shaft, which can be used to inflate the sleeve orthosis to make a self-contained crutch system. We optimized dimensions and specifications of the piston pump and the PEA to minimize the number of gait cycles used to charge the PEA to a target pressure that can be used to fully charge the sleeve orthosis. Bench-top testing was conducted on the PEC and demonstrated the ability of charging the sleeve orthosis using air stored in the PEA after 38 gait cycles. Protocols for future human subject testing to evaluate the system performance of the PEC were also presented.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2017-09-29 without embargo terms","The student, Chenzhang Xiao, accepted the attached license on 2017-07-20 at 11:15.","The student, Chenzhang Xiao, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2017-07-20 at 11:23.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2017-07-20 at 16:11.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11548 on 2017-09-29 at 11:32:23","Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T17:57:11Z (GMT). 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