Development of an exoskeleton for rehabilitation in stroke patients

This project aims to develop and design a pneumatic artificial muscle-inspired gait training exoskeleton for stroke recovery. According to the concept of post-stroke rehabilitation, the golden period is within six months after the damage to get maximum brain recovery. Using the exoskeleton and body-weight support (BWS) system is proposed to provide prompt recovery and retain stroke patients to walk again.  The device relies on the pulley system in which a fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscle and a pull-spring are antagonistically arranged. The angle and the torque of the joint are directly proportional to the vacuum pressure of the actuator. To test the performance of the actuator, the gauge pressure difference ranging between -10 kPa to -60kPa was applied, and the actuator was able to produce the average maximum force output of approximately 14.77 kg at -60 kPa. In addition, the right knee joint prototype of the suit, controlling the movement of the right shank during the swing phase, was created and tested. From the results, the effectiveness of both the transmission system and the control system was confirmed.