• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2011

Purpose : The purposes of this study were to find correlations among Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale, walking velocity, walking asymmetry and balance ability. Methods : The study sample consisted of 50 stroke patients referred to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in the Sanggye Paik, Ilsan Paik, Seoul Paik, and Dobong Hospital. All subjects were ambulatory with or without an assistive device. All participants were assessed on Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale and walking velocity, walking asymmetry. The data were analyzed using independent t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression. Results : The results revealed that upper extremity coordination, balance and pain items of Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale were significantly correlated with walking velocity and upper extremity and upper extremity motor and balance items of Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale were significantly correlated with walking asymmetry. Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale was not significantly correlated with Static Balance Index, Dynamic Balance Index and Weight Distribution Asymmetry Index. Their power of explanation regarding comfortable walking velocity and comfortable walking asymmetry were 60.3%, 42.5% respectively. Conclusion : These results showed that Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale is significantly correlated with walking velocity, asymmetry and not significantly correlated with balance ability. Therefore Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale is an appropriate assessment tool to predict walking ability of patients with stroke. Futher study about walking velocity and asymmetry by change of Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale is needed using a longitudinal study design.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

PURPOSE: Many patients with stroke have difficulties in walking with foot-drop. Various types of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) have been developed, but their weight needs to be reduced with the assistance of the ankle dorsiflexor. Therefore, an elastic AFO (E-AFO) was devised that not only improves the stability and flexibility of the ankle but also assists with ankle dorsiflexion while walking. This study examined the effects of an E-AFO, on the walking patterns of foot-drop patients with stroke. METHODS: Fourteen patients walked with and without an E-AFO, and the gait parameters were assessed using the GAITRite system. The spatiotemporal data on the gait patterns of stroke patients with foot-drop were compared using paired t-tests; the level of statistical significance was set to α<.05. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in the velocity (p=.066) and affecte+d step length (p=.980), but the affected and less-affected stance (p=.022, p=.002) and swing time (p=.012, p=.005) were significantly different. The E-AFO produced a significant difference in the less-affected step length (p=.032). CONCLUSION: The E-AFO has a significant effect on the walking patterns of individuals with foot-drop and stroke. The E-AFO could be a useful assistive device for gait training in stroke patients.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.199-206
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• 2016

Most Koreans walk having their toes in or out, because of their sedentary lifestyles. In addition, using smartphone while walking makes having a desirable walking posture even more difficult. The goal of this study is to make a simple system which easily analyze and inform any person his or her personal walking habit. To discriminate gait patterns, we developed a gait monitoring system using a 3-axis accelerometer and a foot pressure monitoring system. The developed system, with an accelerometer and a few pressure sensors, can acquire subject's foot pressure and how tilted his or her torso is. We analyzed the relationship between type of gate and sensor data using this information. As the result of analysis, we could find out that statistical parameters like standard deviation and root mean square are good for discriminating among torso postures, and k-nearest neighbor algorithm is good at clustering gait patterns. The developed system is expected to be applicable to medical or athletic fields at a low price.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.271-286
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• 2020

This study evaluated designs via the consumers' function and design preferences survey for using product design images, virtual avatar wearing images and product explanations that identified consumers' function and design preferences for knee protection pads as well as to develop movement assistive knee pad designs. We developed Design A for men and Design B for women. For Design A, the front of the knee supports muscles and alleviates pain with a hole. Mesh material with good ventilation was applied to enhance wearing comfort. The color was achromatic for a modern style, and the hook fastener and loops enabled easy wear and removal of the pad while controlling size and pressure strength. For Design B, taping details seamlessly support muscles in the knee area with fabrics less than 0.1 cm thick and with long sleeves in the diverse sizes. The design's satisfaction assessment showed that potential consumers were satisfied with Design A and Design B for overall design and functional features. Over 77% wanted to use/wear and purchase designs; in addition, over 78% expected it would help with walking and relieve knee pain. The results can be helpful for designers when deciding designs for manufacturing and commercializing kneepad products.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.591-597
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• 2022

Objective: The sitting and standing are motions that correspond to the previous stage of rehabilitation to go to walking for daily life. The purpose of this study was to measure task times, path length of the center of pressure (COP) and activity on the vastus femoris muscle using surface electromyography (EMG) when standing up and sitting down. Design: One group cross-sectional design Methods: Fifteen elderly subjects (8 male, 7 female) participated. All subjects were tested three times according to four assist levels (non-assist, lower, middle, and maximal assist) using adjusts the length of spring at sit-to-stand and stand to sit on a chair. The task duration, and COP path length were recorded for the balance function on the Nintendo Wii fit board. The activity of the rectus femoris muscle was recorded on both legs using surface EMG. Results: The results showed that the task duration of the sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit were significantly increased compared to without assist (p<.05). The activation of the rectus femoris muscle more significantly decreased compared to without assistance at standing or sitting (p<.05). Conclusions: The assistive chair showed less quadriceps muscle activation during sitting and standing compared to without assistance. We suggest that our assist-standing chair can help with activities of daily living such as standing up and sitting down movements adjusting the spring length for control assist level by safely.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Background: This study evaluates the usability of the Motion-Tracking Gait Assistive Walker (MTGAW) designed for elderly individuals and those with disabilities, identifying areas for improvement through interviews with physical and occupational therapists. Design: A survey study involves the usability test for MTGAW. Methods: Usability evaluations were conducted with 37 physical therapists and occupational therapists. The process included explanation, product usage, satisfaction surveys, and interviews. A satisfaction survey covering 19 items across safety, maneuverability, usability, and management areas was administered. Individual interviews identified areas for improvement. Results: Overall, high satisfaction was reported across the four areas, but interviews highlighted the need for improvements, such as addressing discomfort due to slow speed and enhancing safety measures to prevent rear-end falls. Adjusting the walker's height and width to suit the user's physique was also suggested. Conclusion: MTGAW enhances walking support and hand movement freedom but needs refinement in speed control, fall prevention, and customization based on the user physique. Future efforts should focus on developing an improved MTGAW, considering recommendations from physical therapy experts, and conducting studies to analyze its clinical effectiveness for commercialization.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.144-151
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• 2017

An important characteristic of people with partially impaired walking ability, such as incomplete paraplegics, is that they are able to generate voluntary motion of lower-limbs. Therefore, wearable robots for the incomplete paraplegic patients require a different assistance method compared to those of complete paraplegics. First, the wearable robot should be controlled to not resist wearer's motion. Second, it should be able to generate assistive torque accurately when needed. In this paper, a wearable robot, called EROWA, for the incomplete paraplegic patients is introduced. EROWA utilizes compact rotary series elastic actuators (cRSEAs) and a control method called the zero impedance control to reduce the mechanical resistance. An assistive torque trajectory is proposed to assist gait in this paper. The proposed method is verified by simulation and experimental studies.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2009

Recently, the interest on walking assistances in order to assist aged people has increased due to the increase of the aged. However, most walking aid systems have a weakness for a slope because they don't have power. So, they have a weak point which makes users difficult to move when they are weak in the legs. That is why the interest on walking assistances with power has increased. The use of the walking aid systems should be easy because most users are old people. Thus, we produce module to grasp walking intent of users by using various sensors such as potentiometer, FSR(Force Sensing Resistance) Sensor and Stretch Sensor and calculate the response time to the module. Firstly, the response time of handlebar which is a kind of potentiometer is 420ms and Resilience of it is 140ms. Secondly, the response time of handlebar which use FSR Sensor is 320ms and Resilience of it is 220ms. Finally, the response time of the Stretch Sensor is 160ms and Resilience of it is 140ms. The performance of Stretch Sensor is the best among the three kind of sensors.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.75-84
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• 2013

In this study, the patterns and characteristics according to gait cycle were analyzed using to EMG signals during walking, and analyzed in the time domain and frequency domain. The experiments was performed divide to level-ground walking and stair walking, and gait cycle was analysis by stance and swing. In the sagittal plane by using the tilt sensor measures the angle of the lower leg, and EMG was measured from the quadriceps and biceps femoris. The tilt of the lower leg was showed the biggest tilt at HS, and showed lowest value at TO. All in walking according to the gait cycle IEMG showed a specific pattern, and is expected useful to determine the gait cycle and kind. In the frequency domain analysis was using STFT on able to frequency analysis according to time, and using the tilt sensor was identify gait cycle. We analyzed also spectrum of the results of the STFT in all gait types, and recognized that stance had broad bandwidth than that of swing. Through this study, it was confirmed the possibility of judgment and analysis of the gait cycle using EMG and the tilt in the sagittal plane of the lower leg. When used it, can improve the quality of life of amputation patients

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.47-57
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• 2016

In this paper, we measured human body signals in order to verify a active harness system that we developed for gait and balance training. The experimental procedure was validated by tests with 20 healthy male subjects. They conducted motions of Activities of Daily Living(ADL)(Normal Walking, Stand-to-Sit, Sit-to-Stand, Stair Walking Up, and Stair Walking Down) according to body weight support rates (0%, 30%, 50% of subjects' body weight). The effectiveness of the active harness system is verified by using the results of foot pressure distribution. In normal walking, the decrease of fore-foot pressure, lateral soleus muscle and biceps femoris muscle were remarkable. The result of stand-to-sit results motion indicated that the rear-foot pressure and tibialis anterior muscle activities exceptionally decreased according to body weight support. The stair walking down show the marked drop of fore-foot pressure and rectus femoris muscle activities. The sit-to-stand and stair walking up activities were inadequate about the effect of body weight support because the velocity of body weight support system was slower than male's activity.