Characterization and Integration of Muscle Signals for the Control of an Exoskeleton of the Lower Limbs during Locomotor Activities

Abstract

Daily activities are a source of fatigue and stress for people with lower extremity spasticity. The possible aids must be introduced while maintaining priority control by the patient. This work aims to develop such an application in the context of walking on the exoskeleton developed at the Systems Engineering Laboratory of Versailles (LISV). The application results are based on data recorded at the END-ICAP laboratory with gait sensors for healthy subjects, people with CPs, and people who had a stroke. Our contribution is the proposal of a new method of neuromotor control for a rehabilitative exoskeleton. It consists in determining and assisting the motor instructions for the movements of a patient while retaining his expertise; the assistance as needed and the detection of its intention based on a fusion of information. The results show that the proposed index characterizes the relationship of the angle difference with a reference movement for each joint. It dynamically compensates for movements efficiently and safely. This index is applicable for gait pathology studies and robotic gait assistance.