Publication

A novel verticalized reeducation device for spinal cord injuries, the WalkTrainer: from design to the clinical trials

Abstract

Robotic assistive devices have been developed and are now being introduced in clinical environments. Such robots can advantageously provide long raining, with quantifiable mobilization (force and position). But in the event of a complete lesion the patient’s muscles remain completely passive. To overcome that issue electrical muscle stimulation can be employed. The complex nature of the muscles associated to the dynamics of walking, require subtle stimulation schemes which rely on position and force information provided by the robot. The combination of muscle stimulation (preferably in a closed loop manner to avoid rapid exhaustion and guarantee better control) and robotic mobilization optimizes the afferent feedback provided to the subject and allows an effective muscle training. The WalkTrainer that is one of these reeducation devices, will be extensively presented in this chapter.

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Related concepts (30)
Muscle contraction
Muscle contraction is the activation of tension-generating sites within muscle cells. In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such as when holding something heavy in the same position. The termination of muscle contraction is followed by muscle relaxation, which is a return of the muscle fibers to their low tension-generating state.
Muscle
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the animal tissues that makes up the three different types of muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to contract. Muscle is formed during embryonic development, in a process known as myogenesis. Muscle tissue contains special contractile proteins called actin and myosin which interact to cause movement. Among many other muscle proteins present are two regulatory proteins, troponin and tropomyosin. Muscle tissue varies with function and location in the body.
Force
In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an object to change its velocity, i.e., to accelerate, unless counterbalanced by other forces. The concept of force makes the everyday notion of pushing or pulling mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and direction of a force are both important, force is a vector quantity. It is measured in the SI unit of newton (N) and often represented by the symbol F.
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