Design and development of inexpensive pneumatically-powered assisted knee-ankle-foot orthosis for gait rehabilitation-preliminary finding

Abstract

Locomotion training has proven to be a highly effective approach to assist patients in recovering their normal walking patterns. A pneumatically-actuated orthosis will improve gait rehabilitation significantly by providing a stable, accurate and precise lower extremities motion. This paper presents the design and development of a knee ankle foot orthosis (KAFO) powered by pneumatic artificial muscles. The KAFO is intended as a proof-of-concept rehabilitation device for the assessment of the conceptual design and testing of the power control system. McKibben Pneumatic Artificial Muscles is selected as the pneumatic actuator and the frame were made of aluminum. The general approach of this project is to develop an inexpensive rehabilitation robotic prototype consisting of a powered exoskeleton for the lower extremities.