Background Gait impairments affect millions worldwide, including individuals with neurological disorders, injuries, and age-related conditions. These challenges not only limit mobility and independence but can also lead to complications like muscular atrophy and cardiovascular issues. Traditional assistive technologies like braces, walkers, and wheelchairs...

Because the hip joint provides about 40-50 percent of the total average positive power for walking, injuries to this joint, or to the spine, can have a drastic impact on walking capabilities. Between total hip replacements, stroke, and other gait deteriorating injuries, there is already a significant population of patients with mobility deficits involving...

­Background The field of exoskeleton robotics is dominated by devices that utilize serial actuated architectures. A serial architecture is like a human’s limb anatomy, as it represents a series of linkages coupled by actuated joints. This architecture is used by most robotic devices but is not an ideal choice for many exoskeleton applications...

Background Permanent deformation of the tendons surrounding the ankle joint can occur in individuals suffering from chronic ankle instability (CAI), which is a long-term disability that can result from recurrent ankle sprains. Lateral ankle buckling causes sudden instances of ankle inversion-eversion (IE) in the frontal plane, which creates excessive...

Multi-Axis Robotic Platform for Studying Neuromechanics of an Ankle Joint SI Case No. M17-209P Background The human ankle provides a variety of functions during both walking and standing. The ankle generates propulsion, supports body weight, absorbs impact, contributes to balance, and aids in stability among a number of other functions through...

In robotic mechanisms, a parallel manipulator uses multiple actuated parallel linkages to synergistically control the motion of the end-effector. In comparison to the more common serial chain manipulator, parallel manipulators typically offer better end-effector performance in terms of precision, stiffness, velocity, and torque generation. Parallel...

Joint misalignment between a wearable robotic joint and its user can result in detrimental mechanical interference. For small degrees of joint misalignment, this interference can result in fatigue and friction-related user injuries, such as irritant contact dermatitis. Large degrees of joint misalignment can result in more severe injuries such as bruising,...