Development and assessment of a control approach for a lower-limb exoskeleton for use in gait rehabilitation post stroke

Abstract

Lower-limb weakness or paralysis is a common impairment following stroke. In recent years numerous robotic-assisted systems have been developed to aid in post-stroke gait rehabilitation. The controllers developed for these systems have nearly all consisted of traditional or modified trajectory-based control systems which guide a patient’s limbs through a kinematically improved gait cycle. Controllers which do not operate on a trajectory basis may offer numerous advantages, especially when implemented on an overground (as opposed to treadmill-based) robotic system. This thesis describes the development and evaluation of a non-trajectory-based controller for use in post-stroke gait training. The controller has been implemented on a lower-limb robotic exoskeleton and tested with several subjects recovering from stroke. Subjects were able to improve gait speed and stride length after practicing overground gait in the exoskeleton.