• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.325-333
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity between Figure-of-8 Walking Test (F8W), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Four Squared Step Test (FSST), and Timed UP and GO Test (TUG) in patients with stroke. Methods: Forty two participants (26 men, 16 women, $55.0{\pm}11.72$) with at least three months post stroke who were able to walk at least 10 m without walking aid participated in this study. Assessment of concurrent validity between the F8W (time and steps) and BBS was performed using Spearman rank order correlation and between the F8W (time and steps), FSST and TUG assessed using Pearson correlation. Results: The time of the F8W showed correlation with BBS (r=-0.46, p<0.01), FSST (r=0.64, p<0.01), and TUG (r=0.81, p<0.01), and steps of the F8W showed correlation with BBS (r=-0.43, p<0.01), FSST (r=0.47, p<0.01), and TUG (r=0.51, p<0.01). Conclusion: The F8W is a valid measure of balance and walking skill among patients with stroke and may provide complementary information with regard to dynamic balance and functional walking for the real life of stroke patients.

• 한국운동역학회지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.1-9
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• 2007

Walking is not only an essential component of the human mobility, but also is a good exercise. Inability to walk freely can reduce an individual's quality of life and independence substantially. Being a relatively low impact activity, walking is particularly good for the elderly and research has shown that regular walking in the elderly reduces the chance of fall-related injuries and mental diseases as well. In spite of the documented benefits of regular walking, it is still difficult to walk without the aid of assistive devices for the frail elderly who have lower extremity problems. Assistive walking devices(AWD), such as crutches, canes, hiking-poles, T-Poles and walkers, are often prescribed to the elderly to make their walking be safe and efficient. Many researchers have demonstrated the effects of AWDs such as reducing lower extremity loading, improved dynamic/gait stability, yet, no study has been done for gait pattern when the elderly gait with AWDs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether T-Poles, one of the AWDs, change the elderly gait pattern. Eight community-dwelling female elderly participated in this study. Laboratory kinematics during walking with T-Poles(PW) and with out T-Poles(NPW) was assessed. PW showed significant increase in step width, stride length, gait velocity and decrease in swing time. No significances were found in lower body joint angles but meaningful trend and pattern were found. Maybe the reason was due to the participants. Our participants were healthy enough so that the effect of T-Poles was minimum. PW also showed typical gait phases which are no single support phase during a gait cycle. It indicates that walking with T-Poles may guarantee safe and confident walking to the frail elderly.

• 대한정형도수물리치료학회지
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.36-43
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• 2007

Purpose: An objective analysis and observations were to be done on hemiplegia patients that are wearing a walking support device, Stroke shoes. Their improvements in walking pace, the reduction of distance between the two knee joint, the increase of curve angle of the knee joint and their steps and the reduction of ankle joint upon swing phase were analyzed using a 20 walking analyzer. Methods: An examination was carried out to see the patients' communication skill and independent walking and then let them walk with the Stroke shoes on to get results before and after wearing it. Simi Reality Motion Systems GmbH (Germany, 2007) was used to analyze the results regarding knee joint and ankle joint angle changes of sagitta plane and coronal plane, stepping distances, distances between the knees and walking pace. Results: 1. The articulation angle of ankle joint during swing phase decreased and knee joint has shown a statistically significant increase in such value(p<0.05). 2. Only knee joint showed a significant increase in articulation angle during heel strike(p<0.05). 3. Knee joint showed a significant increase in articulation angle during toe off(p<0.05). 4. The distance between the two knees as well as their foot steps significantly decreased compared with when Stroke shoes were not worn(p<0.05). 5. Stroke shoes with FES have shown positive effects on the patients in improving their walking styles overall. (p<0.05). Conclusion: There was an improvement in rotation walking pattern by a reduction in the distance between the knees after wearing Stroke shoes with FES. Plantar flexion reduced that occurred in ankle joint during walking and flexion angle increased in knee joint, both of which improved foot drop which was a major problem in hemiplegia patients. Also it is believed that the device will have some positive influences on knee joint stiffening paralysis to aid in improving inefficient walking phases.

• 한국의류학회지
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.108-119
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• 2024

In this study, we aimed to propose enhancements to the dimensions and design of walking aids tailored for elderly women. Specifically, we focused on wheeled walking assistance devices and aligned each structural component with the appropriate human body dimensions to suggest appropriate product dimensions organized by size clusters, aiming to maximize the practicality of the results. We extracted essential factors required for product design, including human body size elements. The dimension extraction method was clustered to establish connections between key human body parameters-such as height, weight, and age groups-and product dimensions. We conducted a comparative analysis of walking aid product dimensions according to the design elements and sizes of models currently available in the market. The outcomes of this study offer objective, data-driven insights into areas where existing models on the market could benefit from improvement and we anticipate that the findings of this study will provide a solid, quantitative foundation for individuals when selecting the most suitable model for their needs.

• 재활복지공학회논문지
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.7-13
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• 2009

최근 노인인구의 증가로 인해 고령자를 위한 보행 보조기에 대한 관심이 증가되고 있다. 하지만 대부분의 경우 동력이 없는 시스템으로 경사 등의 공간에서 취약성을 가지며, 사용자가 다리에 힘이 없을 경우 편하게 이동할 수 없다는 단점이 있다. 따라서 동력형 보행보조기에 대한 관심이 증가되고 있다. 대부분의 보행보조기의 사용자는 고령자 이며 사용이 간편하며 편리해야 한다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 사용자의 편리성 증진을 위해 다양한 센서 즉, 가변저항, 힘센서, 스트레치 센서 등을 사용하여 사용자의 보행의지를 파악하기 위한 장치를 개발하였다. 또한 개발된 장치에 대한 평가를 하기위해 센서의 응답성 및 복원성을 20ms단위로 측정하여 비교 평가하였다. 결과적으로 가변 저항형 핸들바의 응답성은 420ms 이며 복귀성은 380ms이고 힘센서를 이용한 핸들바 응답성은 320ms 이며 복귀성은 220ms이다. 스트레치 센서의 응답성은 160ms, 복귀성은 140ms으로 가장 뛰어난 것을 검증하였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.632-637
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• 2017

Even though the potential for an accident in nuclear power plants is very low, multiple emergency plans are necessary because the impact of such an accident to the public is enormous. One of these emergency plans involves a robotic system for investigating accidents under conditions of high radiation and contaminated air. To develop a robot suitable for operation in a nuclear power plant, we focused on eliminating the three major obstacles that challenge robots in such conditions: the disconnection of radio communication, falling on uneven floors, and loss of localization. To solve the radio problem, a Wi-Fi extender was used in radio shadow areas. To reinforce the walking, we developed two- and four-leg convertible walking, a floor adaptive foot, a roly-poly defensive falling design, and automatic standing recovery after falling methods were developed. To allow the robot to determine its location in the containment building, a bar code landmark reading method was chosen. When a severe accident occurs, this robot will be useful for accident condition monitoring. We also anticipate the robot can serve as a workman aid in a high radiation area during normal operations.

• 한국통신학회논문지
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• 제36권3B호
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• pp.287-296
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• 2011

시각장애인들이 주로 사용하고 있는 백색 지팡이(White Stick)는 지상의 부유장애물에 대한 감지가 어려울 뿐만 아니라, 보행중인 시각장애인에게 현재 위치정보와 응급상황 발생시 효과적인 보호 조치를 제공하는데 문제점이 있다. 본 논문에서는 이와 같은 문제점을 해결하여 시각장애인들이 보다 안전하고 편리한 보행을 할수 있는 사물지능통신(M2M : Machine-to-Machine) 기반의 지능형 보행보조시스템을 제안한다. 제안하는 시스템은 시각장애인이 사용하는 보행보조지팡이와 이동통신망을 통하여 다수의 보행보조지팡이 사용자를 원격 지원하는 서버로 구성된다. 보행보조지팡이는 초음파센서와 문자-음성 변환기술 등을 이용한 장애물 감지 및 인지 가능뿐만 아니라, 서버에서 제공하는 지리정보와 GPS(Global Positioning System) 수신 장치 등을 이용한 현재위치 알림 및 확인, 위급상황 대처 기능 등을 제공한다. 서버는 지리정보 제공뿐만 아니라, 보호자나 구호기관에 위급상황 발생위치 알림, 보행 동안의 주요 정보(장소 시간 및 횟수 등)를 제공한다. 제안 시스템의 시제품을 통한 기능 및 성능 시험 결과 만족스런 결과를 얻을수 있었다.

• 한국ITS학회 논문지
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.156-168
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• 2017

개인교통수단(PM)은 개인의 이동편의를 향상시켜준다는 측면에서 보행능력이 떨어지는 고령자가 주요 활용 대상이 될 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 고령자가 보도 등 보행환경에서 안전하게 이용할 수 있는 개인교통수단을 설계하고자 한다. 보행환경에는 다양한 통행 장애요인이 존재하며, 개발하고자 하는 수단은 장애요인을 극복하기 위한 기기 성능이 확보되어야 한다. 본 연구에서는 고령자용 개인교통수단의 성능수준 결정을 위하여 보행환경 상 통행 장애요인 현황 및 수준을 조사한다. 관련 지침을 검토하여 조사 대상 항목 및 조사 방법론을 정의하고, 고령자 일상생활 기반 통행 시나리오를 통해 선정된 특정 도로구간에 대하여 조사를 수행한다. 조사 결과를 바탕으로 수단의 기기 성능을 지침 상 제시된 기준에 근거하여 확보하였을 때 발생 가능한 문제점을 확인하며, 장애인용 전동휠체어의 운전 성능 기준을 근거하여 개발 수단의 기기 성능에 대한 요구사항을 정의한다.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.323-329
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• 2020

This paper presents a control algorithm for a wearable walking aid robot for subjects with paraplegia after stroke. After a stroke, a slow, asymmetrical and unstable gait pattern is observed in a number of patients. In many cases, one leg can move in a relatively normal pattern, while the other leg is dysfunctional due to paralysis. We have adopted the so-called assist-as-needed control that encourages the patient to walk as much as possible while the robot assists as necessary to create the gait motion of the paralyzed leg. A virtual wall was implemented for the assist-as-needed control. A position based admittance controller was applied in the swing phase to follow human intentions for both the normal and paralyzed legs. A position controller was applied in the stance phase for both legs. A power controller was applied to obtain stable performance in that the output power of the system was delimited during the sample interval. In order to verify the proposed control algorithm, we performed a simulation with 1-DOF leg models. The preliminary results have shown that the control algorithm can follow human intentions during the swing phase by providing as much assistance as needed. In addition, the virtual wall effectively guided the paralyzed leg with stable force display.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제9권3호
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• pp.133-139
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• 2014

This paper proposes a wearable and motorized crutch control system for the patients using the conventional crutches. The conventional crutches have a few disadvantages such as the inconvenience caused by the direct contact between the ground and the armpit of the patients, and unstable gait patterns. In order to resolve these problems, the motorized crutch is designed as a wearable type on an injured lower limb. In other words, the crutch makes the lower limb to be moved forward while supporting the body weight, protecting the lower limb with frames, and rotating a roller equipped on the bottom of the frames. Also the crutch is controlled using the electromyography and two force sensing resistor (FSR) sensors. The electromyography is used to extract the walking intention from the patient and the FSR sensors to classify the stance and swing phases while walking. As a result, the developed crutch makes the patients walk enabling both hands to be free, as if normal people do.