• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.7-19
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• 2006

Falls are a major sources of death and injury in elderly people. Aged-related changes in the physiological systems which contribute to the maintenance of balance are well documented in older adults. These changes coupled with age-related changes in muscle and bone are likely to contribute to an increased risk of falls in this population. Regular exercise may be one way of preventing falls and fall-related fractures. However, the optimal exercise prescription to prevent falls has not yet been defined. On the literature review of exercise intervention for fall prevention in the elderly, exercise appeared to be a useful tool in fall prevention by improving fall risk factors. The optimum exercise prescription; moderate intensity frequency of 3-4 times per week, duration of 30-60minutes can contribute to decreased hazards and number of fall. Fall prevention protocol should include safety, falling effect, enjoyment, and easiness to follow for older people. Effective exercise programs suggested for fall prevention were such as weight-bearing exercise, resistance exercise, lower muscle strength with elastic band, swiss ball exercise walking, tai chi, and yoga.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of high heeled shoes with the total contact insert (TCI) on the frontal plane of the joints for the lower extremity during the gait. Ten healthy females voluntarily participated in this study and the height of the high heeled shoes was 7 cm. A three-dimensional motion analysis system (VICON) and force plates were used to analyze the movements of the joints for the lower extremities. The results were as follows: There were no significant differences for the angle value on the event of the gait cycle in the maximum eversion and inversion of the ankle joint, the varus and valgus of the knee joint, and the adduction and abduction of the hip joint (p>.05). But, there was a significant difference or the range of motion in the ankle joint (p<.05). The value of ankle and knee moment with a TCI was less than the value for no TCI. And there were significant differences for the moment value of the maximum inversion and eversion on the ankle joint and for the maximum varus and valgus on the knee joint (p<.05). Therefore, a TCI would be effective in stabilizing the joints of the lower extremities and increasing the balance of a body to reduce the injure from a fall during the gait.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.913-922
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• 2014

This paper describes design of a robotic above-knee prosthetic leg which is powered by electrical motors. As a special feature, the robotic prosthetic leg has enough D.O.F.s. For mimicking the human leg, the robotic prosthetic leg is composed of five joints. Three of them are called 'active joint' which is driven by electrical motors. They are placed at the knee-pitch-axis, the ankle-pitch-axis, and the an! kle-roll-axis. Every 'active joint' has enough torque capacity to overcome ground reaction forces for walking and is backlashless for accurate motion generation and high-performance balance control. Other two joints are called 'passive joint' which is activating by torsion spring. They are placed at the toe part and designed by Crank-rocker mechanism using kinematic design approach. In order to verify working performance of the robotic prosthetic leg, we designed a gait trajectory through motion capture technique and experimentally applied it to the robot.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.417-425
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• 2012

This paper presents reference ZMP trajectory generation and implementation for a biped robot via linear inverted dumbbell model (LIDM), which can consider the effect of external momentum on the center of mass (COM) of robot. Based on a reference ZMP trajectory derived by using LIDM, a base trajectory is proposed not only to make the locomotion of robot similar to that of human but also to facilitate its implementation and tuning. In order to realize a dynamic walking using the proposed trajectory, compliance, impedance and ZMP tracking controllers are adopted together. Extensive experiments show that the proposed locomotion of a biped robot is stable and also, similar to that of human. Further researches on balance recovery of a biped robot will be carried out to guarantee its robust locomotion in combination with the proposed trajectory.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1029-1038
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• 2009

This paper proposes a gain switching algorithm for joint position control of a hydraulic humanoid robot. Accurate position control of the lower body is one of the basic requirements for robust balance and walking control. Joint position control is more difficult for hydraulic robots than it is for electric robots because of an absence of reduction gear and better back-drivability of hydraulic joints. Backdrivability causes external forces and torques to have a large effect on the position of the joints. External ground reaction forces therefore prevent a simple proportional-derivative (PD) controller from realizing accurate and fast joint position control. We propose a state feedback controller for joint position control of the lower body, define three modes of state feedback gains, and switch the gains according to the Zero Moment Point (ZMP) and linear interpolation. Dynamic equations of hydraulic actuators were experimentally derived and applied to a robot simulator. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is evaluated with dynamic simulations.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2013

In this paper, a procedure of design and development of a child-sized humanoid robot is described. The design concept for a humanoid robot was proposed and the mechanism of the humanoid robot which is more than 1 meter tall was designed by using 3D design tools. By considering the lightweight of the robot, the hardware for the robot was designed for optimal performance. The frames and links of the robot designed by 3D design tools was manufactured through precision machining with the material which is light and have a good strength. The manufactured child-sized humanoid robot was experimented with basic motions applied inverse kinematics and balance control, and the performance of the motions were verified.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.261-266
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• 2010

Human body is hard to be in perfect balance during walking. Most of time the trunk is supported by one leg and the center of mass(COM) falls to the contralateral side. Thus, dynamic variables such as the velocity of the COM should be considered when gait stability is evaluated. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the extrapolated center of mass(XCom) which utilized the COM position and its velocity, is appropriate to evaluate gait stability. Ten healthy adults participated in this study and performed 3 different types of gaits(normal(NG), hands on waists(HWG), and hands on shoulders(HSG)) onto 4 different types of obstacle(obstacle height: 0%, 30%, 40% and 50% of leg length). Medio-lateral Com-CoP and XCom-CoP inclination angle were calculated during support phase. For all condition, greater M-L XCoM-CoP inclination angles were found(p<.05) compared with those of matched obstacle height CoM-CoP. Especially, M-L XCoM-CoP inclination angle at 50% height revealed the best condition for monitoring dynamic stability. Significantly increased in M-L XCoM-CoP inclination angle was found(p<.05) as obstacle height increased on NG and HWG.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a task-specific obstacle crossing rehabilitation program on functional gait ability in patients with cerebellar ataxia. Overall, we sought to provide ataxia-specific locomotor rehabilitation guidelines for use in clinical practice based on quantitative evidence using relevant analysis of gait kinematics including valid clinical tests. Methods: Patients with cerebellar disease (n=13) participated in obstacle crossing training focusing on maintenance of dynamic balance and posture, stable transferring of body weight, and production of coordinated limb movements for 8 weeks, 2 times per week, 90 minutes per session. Throughout the training of body weight transfer, the instructions emphasized conscious perception and control of the center of body stability, trunk and limb alignment, and stepping kinematics during the practice of each walking phase. Results: According to the results, compared with pre-training data, foot clearance, pre-&post-obstacle distance, delay time, and total obstacle crossing time were increased after intervention. In addition, body COM measures indicated that body sway and movement variability, therefore posture stability during obstacle crossing, showed improvement after training. Based on these results, body sway was reduced and stepping pattern became more consistent during obstacle crossing gait after participation in patients with cerebellar ataxia. Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest that task-relevant obstacle crossing training may have a beneficial effect on recovery of functional gait ability in patients with cerebellar disease.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.136-142
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• 2013

Purpose: The application of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is beneficial for joint movements, inhibition of spasticity, and the improvement of walking ability in patients with chronic hemiplegia. This study aimed to identify the effect of the application of TENS to the knee extensor on the affected side with respect to postural-sway distance and velocity during the sit-to stand movement. Methods: We included 19 patients with post-stroke hemiplegia in this study. They underwent measurements during the sit-to stand movement on a force plate with 5 different stimulation dosages applied over 7 s:No TENS, high-frequency and high intensity TENS, high-frequency and low intensity TENS, low-frequency and high intensity TENS, and low-frequency and low intensity TENS The 5 different condition were administered in random order. Results: The group that received TENS application exhibited a significant decrease in path length and average velocity of center of pressure (COP) displacement compared with the group that did not receive TENS application. TENS dosage at low frequency (3Hz) and high intensity yielded a significant decrease in path length, average velocity, mediolateral distance and anteroposterior distance of COP displacement (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated the effectiveness of the application of low-frequency TENS on STS performance. These findings provide useful information on the application of TENS for the reduction of postural sway during the sit-to-stand movement after stroke.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.74-79
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the FES-gait with augmented feedback training to the FES alone on the gait and functional performance in individuals with chronic stroke. Methods: This study used a pretest and posttest randomized control design. The subjects who signed the agreement were randomly divided into 12 experimental groups and 12 control groups. The experimental groups performed two types of augmented feedback training (knowledge of performance and knowledge of results) together with FES, and the control group performed FES on the TA and GM without augmented feedback and then walked for 30 minutes for 40 meters. Both the experimental groups and the control groups received training five times a week for four weeks. Results: The groups that received the FES with augmented feedback training significantly showed a greater improvement in single limb support (SLS) and gait velocity than the groups that received FES alone. In addition, timed up and go (TUG) test and six minute walk test (6MWT) showed a significant improvement in the groups that received FES with augmented feedback compared to the groups that received FES alone. Conclusion: Compared with the existing FES gait training, augmented feedback showed improvements in gait parameters, walking ability, and dynamic balance. The augmented feedback will be an important method that can provide motivation for motor learning to stroke patients.