Measurement and Analysis of Gait Pattern during Stair Walk for Improvement of Robotic Locomotion Rehabilitation System

Abstract

Background . Robotic locomotion rehabilitation systems have been used for gait training in patients who have had a stroke. Most commercialized systems allow patients to perform simple exercises such as balancing or level walking, but an additional function such as stair-walk training is required to provide a wide range of recovery cycle rehabilitation. In this study, we analyzed stair-gait patterns and applied the result to a robotic rehabilitation system that can provide a vertical motion of footplates. Methods . To obtain applicable data for the robotic system with vertically movable footplates, stair-walk action was measured using an optical marker-based motion capture system. The spatial position data of joints during stair walking was obtained from six healthy adults who participated in the experiment. The measured marker data were converted into joint kinematic data by using an algorithm that included resampling and normalization. The spatial position data are represented as angular trajectories and the relative displacement of each joint on the anatomical sagittal plane and movements of hip joints on the anatomical transverse plane. Results . The average range of motion (ROM) of each joint was estimated as (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6.75</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>48.69</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:math>) at the hip, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mfenced open="(" close=")"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>8.20</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>93.78</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:mfenced></mml:math> at the knee, and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"><mml:mfenced open="(" close=")"><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>17.78</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>11.75</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:mfenced></mml:math> at the ankle during ascent and as <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"><mml:mfenced open="(" close=")"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6.41</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>31.67</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:mfenced></mml:math> at the hip, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"><mml:mfenced open="(" close=")"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>7.38</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>91.93</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:mfenced></mml:math> at the knee, and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"><mml:mfenced open="(" close=")"><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>24.89</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>24.18</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>°</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:mfenced></mml:math> at the ankle during descent. Additionally, we attempted to create a more natural stair-gait pattern by analyzing the movement of the hip on the anatomical transverse plane. The hip movements were estimated to within <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"><mml:mo>±</mml:mo><mml:mn>1.57</mml:mn><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext><mml:mtext>cm</mml:mtext></mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"><mml:mo>±</mml:mo><mml:mn>2.00</