NCT03828214

Post Stroke Walking Kinematics Using the Honda Walking Assist Robotic Exoskeleton

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 11 (actual)
• Sponsor: College of St. Scholastica, Inc. · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 85 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

To investigate the effect of a robotic exoskeleton on kinematics, muscle activity, ground reaction forces and spatiotemporal characteristics during walking in persons post stroke.

Detailed description

Following stroke walking dysfunction is prevalent. Traditional rehabilitation methods fall short of achieving desirable walking outcomes for most people who experience stroke. Robotic methods to assist walking, such as the Honda Walking Assist Device (HWA) Robot from Honda R \& D Americas Inc., are being explored as a means of improving the recovery of walking post stroke. Prior to examining the effectiveness of exoskeletal robots for walking recovery it is important to understand their effect on kinematic and muscle responses during walking. Kinematic and muscle responses at the hip during walking with the HWA were recently described. The purpose of this study is to quantify the effect of walking with the HWA on body segments remote from the hip. These segments include knee, ankle, trunk and arm. The non-invasive measures used will include: walking kinematics (measurement of joint angles using cameras), muscle activity (Electromyography), ground reaction forces (detected by a force plate in the floor) and spatiotemporal characteristics (such as walking speed). Measures will be collected under three conditions: 1) walking at self-selected pace (control), 2) walking at self-selected pace with the HWA (4 Newton-meter assist mode for hip flexion and extension), 3) walking immediately following HWA use (aftereffect).

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Robotic exoskeleton for walking assist	Participants will have two testing sessions in this within-subject design experiment. The conditions under which walking will be evaluated are control (normal) walking, walking with the exoskeleton assistance and walking immediately following exoskeleton walking. The conditions under which stair walking (ascending and descending) will be evaluated include control (normal) stairs and exoskeleton assisted stairs. Assistance is provided by The Honda Walking Assist (HWA) System is a robotic device developed by Honda R\&D Corporation ®, Japan. The devices computer-activated motors use hip angle information to guide assistance delivered through the thigh straps to the legs in time with the walking cycle. The maximum torque delivered is 4 Newton-meters.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-12-11
• Primary completion: 2019-08-31
• Completion: 2019-08-31
• First posted: 2019-02-04
• Last updated: 2023-03-07
• Results posted: 2023-03-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study