NCT07356011

Exoskeleton for Balance

Improving Mediolateral Walking Balance With an Assistive Exoskeleton

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 21 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Many people who have experienced a stroke have deficits in their walking balance. The long-term goal of this research is to develop an exoskeleton that can effectively improve walking balance, thus improving functional mobility.

Detailed description

Walking balance is an important component of functional mobility, with post-stroke balance deficits contributing to a fall rate more than double that of age-matched controls. Unfortunately, traditional therapy approaches have not succeeded in addressing balance deficits or reducing fall risk, motivating the use of technology to fill this gap. Although assistive exoskeletons are a promising approach to improve post-stroke mobility, they have generally not been designed to control walking balance and agility. This limitation is a particular concern in the development of devices for people with stroke, as applying forces to "assist" some aspect of walking (including balance) can have unexpected negative effects. The project goal is to investigate the potential of exoskeleton assistance to improve walking balance that will be accepted by people with stroke. To this end, investigators will use a previously developed hip exoskeleton to quantify the effects of assisting gait stabilization.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	No Exoskeleton	The participant will not wear an exoskeleton
DEVICE	Exoskeleton (zero impedance)	The participant will wear an exoskeleton with zero impedance
DEVICE	Exoskeleton (low impedance)	The participant will wear an exoskeleton with low joint impedance
DEVICE	Exoskeleton (medium impedance)	The participant will wear an exoskeleton with medium joint impedance
DEVICE	Exoskeleton (high impedance)	The participant will wear an exoskeleton with high impedance

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-04-15
• Primary completion: 2027-06-01
• Completion: 2027-06-01
• First posted: 2026-01-21
• Last updated: 2026-04-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States