Elbow joint motion support for C4 level cervical cord injury patient using an exoskeleton robot

Abstract

We previously proposed a motion support robot and conducted experiments in which a C5-level cervical cord injury patient used the system. This paper proposes to offer motion support to a C4-level spinal cord injury patient who suffers from paralysis of the limbs. Electromyogram (EMG) signals are used to determine the user's intentions. The proposed motion assist robot can then support flexion and extension at the elbow joint. Using frequency analysis of the EMG signal, the patient's intention can be estimated in real time, and the coefficient of viscosity is varied in an admittance controller. With the proposed motion assist method, we were able to realize arbitrary upper limb motion of a C4-level cervical cord injury patient.