Article

Due to physical and psychosocial issues associated with long-term
sitting in a wheelchair, devising new ways to facilitate upright mobility is a
key issue in rehabilitation medicine. Wearable Power-Assist Locomotor (WPAL) is a
motorized orthosis and is developed for providing independent and comfortable
walking for paraplegic patients.
The WPAL consists of a wearable robotic
orthosis and custom walker. To facilitate alternate usage with a wheelchair, the
wearable robotic orthosis is based on a medial system with motors located at the
bilateral hip, knee and ankle joints to reduce the increase in heart rate during
gait. The gait parameters include stride length, toe clearance height, swing
time, double support time, etc. (gait speed: up to 1.3 km/h). Independent gait
with the walker can be learned through a five-stage gait exercise sequence. The
first two stages are stepping and gait exercises with parallel bars. The third
stage is gait exercise on treadmill. The subsequent two stages are gait exercise
with walker. RESULTS: Seven motor-complete paraplegic patients (spinal cord
functional levels: T6-T12) participated. Through a series of exercises, all users
achieved independent gait on a level floor (Functional Ambulation Categories: 4).
The mean duration and distance of consecutively walking were 14.1 +/- 11.4
minutes and 165.6 +/- 202.6 m, respectively. The most competent user was able to
walk continuously for as long as 40 minutes and 640 m whereas only for 6 minutes
and 107 m with a conventional orthosis. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that
WPAL might be useful device for supporting upright walking in persons with
paraplegia.

Langue : ANGLAIS