• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.125-131
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• 2009

Purpose：This study performed to evaluate the effect of hip fracture among persons over 50 years old, in Jeju-do, Korea, on mortality, activity of daily living(ADL). Methods：Three hundred eighteen patients over to 50 years of age who lived in Jeju-do and sustained a hip fracture from January 1st 2003 to December 31th 2004 were recruited. The information collected from the hospital records for each patient included age, sex, date of onset, and patients investigated activity grade, ADL, outdoor walking aid on 3month, 6month and 12month. Results：The incidence was 12.5/10,000 for total patients(female 17.0/10,000, male 6.3/10,000) in population over 50 years old. Patients who had lower activity grade and ADL level, showed higher mortality, and patients using outdoor walking aid showed higher mortality. Conclusion：The activity grade, ADL level, Using of outdoor walking aid affect mortality, so more programs about ADL must be developed for the life span and quality of life.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.157-164
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• 2015

In this paper we propose a walking aid system for blind people by exploiting a haptic feedback equipment. The proposed system is a form of haptic feedback cane which is composed of MCU, communication module, sensing module and actuator. The proposed system recognizes obstacles around the blind by using ultrasonic sensors in the sensing module. Moreover, the system generates feedback information about the detected obstacle and then notifies the information to the blind through the actuator. The blind can notice the direction of the detected obstacle with the haptic feedback equipment and vibration motor. Futhermore, the proposed system controls a nearby IoT(Internet of Things) system by utilizing push buttons through the ZigBee communication. Finally, the blind can easily decide the direction of the obstacle without interference of terrain feature by using the proposed system.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.327-336
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• 2012

Objective: The purpose of this study is to find the problems of stability when people use the bassinet as an ambulatory aid for old people. Background: Many aged people use a bassinet as ambulatory aid. But the safety of using the bassinet as ambulatory aid has not been verified yet. Method: The 13 university-students who don't have musculoskeletal disorders volunteered to participate in this study. According to structural analysis of the both tools, we compared the structural stability of an outdoor rollator with the structural stability of a bassinet. And when the participants walked using both tools, the motions were captured and analysed. We measured the angle of shoulder joint and the angle of trunk from the ground when the participants were walking. And we found the distance from participants' pressure cone apex and greater trochanter. Results: Following the structural analysis, the bassinet has the lower structural stability than the outdoor rollator. When the people used the bassinet as ambulatory aid, the angle of the shoulder joint was bigger than to use the outdoor rollator. The angle of trunk wasn't different between the outdoor rollator and the bassinet. And distance from pressure cone apex to greater trochanter was far to use the bassinet than to use the outdoor rollator. Conclusion: Through the structure analysis and gait analysis of the bassinet and the outdoor rollator, we can be aware of that the bassinet has problem of stability. Therefore the people who use the bassinet as an ambulatory aid, especially supporting body weight, may be hurt due to the problems of stability. Application: This research can be used for developing a study of the ambulatory aid and preventing the accident when the aged people use the ambulatory aid.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.63-71
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• 2005

A laboratory study was performed to evaluate the effects of an aid(i.e. stick) on joint loadings. Six healthy young participants were recruited from Virginia Tech student population. Each participant has performed three normal walking and three stick walking trials. Normalized and integrated, ground reaction forces(GRFs) and joint moments were measured at ankle, knee, and hip joints from kinematic and kinetic data. The result suggests that stick walking significantly reduces vertical ground reaction force and joint moments at ankle and knee compared to normal walking.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2011

This paper aims to find the optimal control gain for enhancing the convenience of electric walking frames and design a control algorithm. With the recent advances in medical technology, there has been a rapid increase in the aging population and a variety of mobile walking frames have been developed for improvement of the quality of life. However, the manual walking frames of such mobile aids don't have any electric motor which helps facilitate elderly users' walking and thus are not efficient enough for the old people of weak strength to use especially when moving on uneven surfaces such as slopes or thresholds. The types of electric walking frames have been developed to overcome such inefficiency. Electric walking frames require users' control operations for motor driving unlike manual frames. Therefore, when they are not properly handled, it causes considerable inconvenience to their users. The present study compared the electric walking frames with manual ones in terms of operational convenience and attempted to improve the user convenience of walking frames varying the control value for user convenience based on certain standards. This paper presented a haptic sensor designed to recognize the will to walk and measure the degree of convenience and proposed a control algorithm for improvement of convenience. For user convenience, this paper evaluated the relative convenience of walking frames in view of changing differences between the center of vehicle (COV) and the center of position (COP). With the employment of an electric walking frame and a new measuring method, all the processes were experimentally tested and validated.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1993.10a
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• pp.113-118
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• 1993

This paper represents mechanical compliance & ZMP(Zero Moment Point) control algorithm for IWR(Inha Walking Robot) system. In case of walking in different environments, a biped walking robot must vary its gait(walking period or step length, etc.) according to the environments. However, most of biped walking robots do not have the capability to change their gaits or need more complex control algorithm, because ZMP cannot be defined in their control algorithm. Therefore new linear type with balancing joint is proposed which is used as an aid in balancing & ZMP control itself. In IWR system, ZMP can be defined by solving differential equations and it does not need to be predefined ZMP trajectory. Furthermore we can input the desired ZMP position. In parallel with the development, we also considered a mechanical compliance for reducing the inverse kinematics, dynamics and the control complexity. It will figure out some powerful adaptation with 3D irregular terrains.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.320-328
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• 2021

As the number of visually impaired people steadily increases, interest in independent walking is also increasing. However, there are various inconveniences in the independent walking of the visually impaired at present, reducing the quality of life of the visually impaired. The white cane, which is an existing walking aid for the visually impaired, has difficulty in recognizing upper obstacles and obstacles outside the effective distance. In addition, it is inconvenient to cross the street because the sound signal to help the visually impaired cross the crosswalk is lacking or damaged. These factors make it difficult for the visually impaired to walk independently. Therefore, we propose the design of an embedded system that provides traffic light recognition through object recognition technology, voice guidance using TTS, and upper obstacle recognition through ultrasonic sensors so that blind people can realize safe and high-quality independent walking.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.11-22
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• 2017

For the elderly whose path-finding capability and distance perception abilities have been weakened, the study intends to provide UI design of a wrist type walking aid device which allows the elderly to receive both visual and haptic information that induces the elderly' occasional attention by utilizing currently available haptic technology. The study asked 30 the elderly older than 65 years old, target consumers of the technology, to wear a smart watch and find a path by following the directions provided by four different UI versions of Wizard of Oz. Then, the study has conducted post-experience interview. Quantitative analyses was performed their preference level, number of misguided participants and the number of deviations incurred. Based on the data collected, the study has applied grounded theory, a qualitative research methodology, in order to grasp new understanding about the research, and has consequently reached some significant implications for further research on wrist type walking aid device for the elderly, who show self-contradictory demands.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.7-14
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• 2012

Purpose : This study investigated the validity of crosswalk signal time length with regards to elderly stroke patients. Methods : We recruited 60 elderly adults sixty years of age or older for our study. The participants were divided into three groups.Group A consisted of 20 healthy participants with no walking aids. Group B consisted of 20 stroke patients with no walking aids. Group C consisted of 20 stroke patients using a cane as a walking aid. We measured the walking times of participants for 7 m, 14 m and 21 m lengths. Results : Using an independent t test, there was a statistically significant difference in the walking times between Group A and Group B for all lengths. There was a statistically significant difference in the walking times between Group A and Group C for all lengths. There was no statistically significant difference in the walking times between Group B and Group C. There was a statistically significant difference between the three group when using ANOVA. Conclusion : From the results of this study, we infer that the signal times at crosswalks are inappropriate for elderly stroke participants who use a cane as a walking aid. Therefore further research should be conducted to determine the appropriate amount of additional time needed for the elderly to safely cross the street.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the weight bearing of the cane and foot for the different walking aids during walking. Methods: A total of 12 subjects (6 males, 6 female) with stroke were enrolled in the study. Foot sensor and an instrumented cane were integrated to analyze the vertical peak force on the foot and cane. Results: The vertical peak force applied on the quad cane gait resulted in a significantly higher rate, which was $10.60{\pm}6.48%$ of the body weight, when compared to that of mono cane gait which was $7.91{\pm}4.11%$. The results indicated significantly lower vertical peak force on the affected foot, without the help of a walking aid, as compared to that of walking with a cane (respectively, p<0.05). However, results showed that the differences in vertical peak force on the affected foot, between mono cane and quad cane, were not significant. Conclusion: In conclusion, the vertical peak forces were significantly greater, during a comparison between walking with a quad cane and walking with a mono cane. On the contrary, no significant difference in the vertical peak force on the affected foot between walking with quad cane and walking with a mono cane. Muscle activation pattern and walking pattern should be measured in future studies, to study the differences between walking with various walking aids in the lower and higher functioning hemiparetic subjects, as its use may mask underlying gait impairment.