Study on the Gait Pattern of the Aged with Lower Limbs Orthosis

  • Kim, Kyong (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chonbuk National University) ;
  • Kim, Seong-Hyun (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chonbuk National University) ;
  • Kim, Young-Chul (Center for Healthcare Technology Development) ;
  • Kwon, Tae-Kyu (Division of Bionics and Bioinformatics, Chonbuk National University) ;
  • Hong, Chul-Un (Division of Bionics and Bioinformatics, Chonbuk National University) ;
  • Kim, Nam-Gyun (Division of Bionics and Bioinformatics, Chonbuk National University)
  • Published : 2005.06.02

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the gait motion of the aged with a lower limbs orthosis. The gait motion was analyzed with and without lower limbs orthosis using APAS 3D Motion Analysis System. The pattern of lower limbs motion was tracked based on four targets attached to the body of the subject. The targets were positioned at hip, knee, ankle, and foot. The parameters measured were the displacement, the velocity, and the acceleration of the four targets. The improvement in the measured values on the displacement and the velocity of the four targets were small with the orthosis due to inconvenience of wearing it, but the increase in the acceleration was large due to the elastic force of the rubber actuator. Especially, the increase of the acceleration of foot with lower limbs orthosis seems to help the gait motion of the elderly.

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