Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments
Abstract Millions of individuals surviving a stroke have lifelong gait impairments that reduce their personal independence and quality of life. Reduced walking speed is one of the major problems limiting community mobility and reintegration. Previous studies have shown positive effect of robot-assis...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86343-x |
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| author | Chiara Livolsi Roberto Conti Tommaso Ciapetti Eleonora Guanziroli Thor Fridriksson Ásgeir Alexandersson Emilio Trigili Francesco Giovacchini Raffaele Molino Lova Alberto Esquenazi Franco Molteni Simona Crea Nicola Vitiello |
| author_facet | Chiara Livolsi Roberto Conti Tommaso Ciapetti Eleonora Guanziroli Thor Fridriksson Ásgeir Alexandersson Emilio Trigili Francesco Giovacchini Raffaele Molino Lova Alberto Esquenazi Franco Molteni Simona Crea Nicola Vitiello |
| author_sort | Chiara Livolsi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Millions of individuals surviving a stroke have lifelong gait impairments that reduce their personal independence and quality of life. Reduced walking speed is one of the major problems limiting community mobility and reintegration. Previous studies have shown positive effect of robot-assisted gait training utilizing hip exoskeletons for individuals with gait impairments due to a stroke, leading to increased walking speed in post-treatment compared to pre-treatment assessments. However, no evidence emerged of a significant increasing in walking speed attributable to device usage compared to walking without the device. In this pilot investigation, we observed that hip flexion/extension assistance delivered by a portable bilateral powered hip exoskeleton increased overground self-selected walking speed by 20.2 ± 5.0% on average among six chronic post-stroke survivors. When comparing walking with and without the hip exoskeleton within the same experimental session, the observed speed increment resulted in statistically and clinically meaningful improvement (0.14 ± 0.03 m/s > minimal clinically important difference, p = 0.015). The increased walking speed was the result of a higher self-selected cadence and longer step length both on the paretic and nonparetic limbs. By facilitating gait, a bilateral hip exoskeleton could be a viable technology for extending locomotor mobility and facilitating gait training of individuals affected by post-stroke hemiparesis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-902491bb6c0d4a8ea92aac62dfd59030 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-902491bb6c0d4a8ea92aac62dfd590302025-01-19T12:21:01ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-86343-xBilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairmentsChiara Livolsi0Roberto Conti1Tommaso Ciapetti2Eleonora Guanziroli3Thor FridrikssonÁsgeir AlexanderssonEmilio Trigili4Francesco Giovacchini5Raffaele Molino Lova6Alberto Esquenazi7Franco Molteni8Simona Crea9Nicola Vitiello10The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaIUVO S.r.lIRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUSVilla Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce HospitalThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaIUVO S.r.lIRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUSDepartment of PM&R, Jefferson Moss-Magee RehabilitationVilla Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce HospitalThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaAbstract Millions of individuals surviving a stroke have lifelong gait impairments that reduce their personal independence and quality of life. Reduced walking speed is one of the major problems limiting community mobility and reintegration. Previous studies have shown positive effect of robot-assisted gait training utilizing hip exoskeletons for individuals with gait impairments due to a stroke, leading to increased walking speed in post-treatment compared to pre-treatment assessments. However, no evidence emerged of a significant increasing in walking speed attributable to device usage compared to walking without the device. In this pilot investigation, we observed that hip flexion/extension assistance delivered by a portable bilateral powered hip exoskeleton increased overground self-selected walking speed by 20.2 ± 5.0% on average among six chronic post-stroke survivors. When comparing walking with and without the hip exoskeleton within the same experimental session, the observed speed increment resulted in statistically and clinically meaningful improvement (0.14 ± 0.03 m/s > minimal clinically important difference, p = 0.015). The increased walking speed was the result of a higher self-selected cadence and longer step length both on the paretic and nonparetic limbs. By facilitating gait, a bilateral hip exoskeleton could be a viable technology for extending locomotor mobility and facilitating gait training of individuals affected by post-stroke hemiparesis.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86343-x |
| spellingShingle | Chiara Livolsi Roberto Conti Tommaso Ciapetti Eleonora Guanziroli Thor Fridriksson Ásgeir Alexandersson Emilio Trigili Francesco Giovacchini Raffaele Molino Lova Alberto Esquenazi Franco Molteni Simona Crea Nicola Vitiello Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments Scientific Reports |
| title | Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments |
| title_full | Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments |
| title_fullStr | Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments |
| title_short | Bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke-related gait impairments |
| title_sort | bilateral hip exoskeleton assistance enables faster walking in individuals with chronic stroke related gait impairments |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86343-x |
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