Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing
Many robotic exoskeletons for lower limb assistance aid walking by reducing energy costs. However, investigations examining stair-climbing assistance have remained limited, generally evaluating reduced activation of related muscles. This study sought to investigate how climbing assistance by a robot...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Bionics and Biomechanics |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8833461 |
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| author | Hanseung Woo Kyoungchul Kong Dong-wook Rha |
| author_facet | Hanseung Woo Kyoungchul Kong Dong-wook Rha |
| author_sort | Hanseung Woo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many robotic exoskeletons for lower limb assistance aid walking by reducing energy costs. However, investigations examining stair-climbing assistance have remained limited, generally evaluating reduced activation of related muscles. This study sought to investigate how climbing assistance by a robotic exoskeleton affects energy consumption. Ten healthy young participants wearing a robotic exoskeleton that assists flexion and extension of hip and knee joints walked up nine flights of stairs twice at a self-selected speed with and without stair-climbing assistance. Metabolic cost was assessed by measuring oxygen consumption, heart rate, and the time to climb each flight of stairs. Net oxygen cost (NOC) and total heart beats (THB) were used as measures of metabolic cost, accounting for different climbing speeds. Stair-climbing assistance reduced NOC and THB by 9.3% (P<0.001) and 6.9% (P=0.003), respectively, without affecting climbing speed. Despite lack of individual optimization, assistive joint torque applied to the hip and knee joints reduced metabolic cost and cardiovascular burden of stair climbing in healthy young males. These results may be used to improve methods for stair ascent assistance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-74f959577ec24747bba381accc788d2e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1176-2322 1754-2103 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Applied Bionics and Biomechanics |
| spelling | doaj-art-74f959577ec24747bba381accc788d2e2025-08-20T03:34:12ZengWileyApplied Bionics and Biomechanics1176-23221754-21032021-01-01202110.1155/2021/88334618833461Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair ClimbingHanseung Woo0Kyoungchul Kong1Dong-wook Rha2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaAngel Robotics, Seoul 04798, Republic of KoreaMany robotic exoskeletons for lower limb assistance aid walking by reducing energy costs. However, investigations examining stair-climbing assistance have remained limited, generally evaluating reduced activation of related muscles. This study sought to investigate how climbing assistance by a robotic exoskeleton affects energy consumption. Ten healthy young participants wearing a robotic exoskeleton that assists flexion and extension of hip and knee joints walked up nine flights of stairs twice at a self-selected speed with and without stair-climbing assistance. Metabolic cost was assessed by measuring oxygen consumption, heart rate, and the time to climb each flight of stairs. Net oxygen cost (NOC) and total heart beats (THB) were used as measures of metabolic cost, accounting for different climbing speeds. Stair-climbing assistance reduced NOC and THB by 9.3% (P<0.001) and 6.9% (P=0.003), respectively, without affecting climbing speed. Despite lack of individual optimization, assistive joint torque applied to the hip and knee joints reduced metabolic cost and cardiovascular burden of stair climbing in healthy young males. These results may be used to improve methods for stair ascent assistance.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8833461 |
| spellingShingle | Hanseung Woo Kyoungchul Kong Dong-wook Rha Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing Applied Bionics and Biomechanics |
| title | Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing |
| title_full | Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing |
| title_fullStr | Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing |
| title_short | Lower-Limb-Assisting Robotic Exoskeleton Reduces Energy Consumption in Healthy Young Persons during Stair Climbing |
| title_sort | lower limb assisting robotic exoskeleton reduces energy consumption in healthy young persons during stair climbing |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8833461 |
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