• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.311-319
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• 2000

This study was to measure whether single axis foot or the SACH foot applied to below-knee amputation patients would bring positive changes to the patients' cardiopulmonary function, and help them to overcome their disability. The experiment took place at Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, from July 20th to November 20th, 1999 with 10 below-knee amputation patients. The patients were asked to equip single axis foot and SACH foot by turns and lead them to walk on a treadmill which was designed to increase its steep slope. Patients heart rate and blood pressure were recorded before and after their walking, The heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure of the patients who were equipped with, either SACH foot or single axis foot, have been increased with as the slant becoming steeper. The heart rates during the experiment did not show relevant changes according to the kind of foot used and the gradient, but the changes occurred before and after the walking(p=0.0001), The similar result of systolic blood pressure was found during the waking(p=0.01). Below-knee amputation patients are expected to walk and perform the routines better, no matter what type of foot is used, as long as they wear an artificial foot properly and taking features of foot product into consideration

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.538-546
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• 2015

This paper describes an intelligent ankle assistive robot which provides assistive power to reduce ankle torque based on an analysis of ankle motion and muscle patterns during walking on level and sloped floors. The developed robot can assist ankle muscle power by driving an electric geared motor at the exact timing through the use of an accelerometer that detects gait phase and period, and a potentiometer to measure floor slope angle. A simple muscle assistive link mechanism is proposed to convert the motor torque into the foot assistive force. In particular, this mechanism doesn't restrain the wearer's ankle joint; hence, there is no danger of injury if the motor malfunctions. During walking, the link mechanism pushes down the top of the foot to assist the ankle torque, and it can also lift the foot by inversely driving the linkage, so this robot is useful for foot drop patients. The developed robot and control algorithm are experimentally verified through walking experiments and EMG (Electromyography) measurements.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2010

This study carried out to develop barrier-free certification program in forest trail. It is done to provide the certification system presented about certification organized, certification standard and indexes, evaluation method and operation plan. In order to develop certification program in forest trail, detailed measurement index must be developed earlier based on an accessbility, a stability, a preservation and a walking continuity. The suitable forest trail for weak pedestrian was investigated that running slope should be 1/20(5%) maximum, cross slope cannot exceed 1/50(2%) maximum and clear tread width should be above of minimum 90cm. In addition, the trail type is designed as a mixed trail system which is a combination of the loop and the line form and its distance should be 225~675m. Finally, forest trail should be manage sustainably by having regular monitoring and evaluation.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.643-655
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate biomechanical differences between young and old adults during downhill walking on a treadmill in order to understand the mechanisms of elderly falls. Eighteen healthy young females(YG: yrs: 21.17±1.5) and eighteen healthy old females(OG: yrs: 66.67±1.33) participated in this study. They were asked to walk at their preferred speed on a treadmill at level, 7.5° and 15° decline. OG walked more wobbly in the medial and lateral directions than YG(p<.05). As slope got steeper, OG had smaller ROM(range of motion) of ankle and knee joints compared with YG. However, there was no difference in ROM of the hip between OG and YG, but maximum extension angle of OG was smaller compared with YG(p<.05). Smaller extensor moment was generated on OG during downhill walking(p<.05). It was hypothesized that more risk factors would be found on older people compared to young people during downhill. However, older people actually walks with a safer strategy compared to young people during downhill. Finally, current findings about biomechanical characteristics of elderly walking would provide useful fundamental information for a follow-up study regarding the prevention of elderly fall during their daily life.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.251-265
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to deduce key indicators in evaluating the pedestrian environment for the elderly in Busan, which has entered an aging society, and to propose policy improvement measures. The key indicators were selected based on prior research and surveys, and the effectiveness of those indicators were measured through evaluations conducted on three places which have the highest proportion of the elderly population in Busan. The summaries of analysis are as follow. First, the three places are hillslide residential areas, and areas of activity that the elderly have were very narrow due to the restrictions on their movement caused by slope. Second, the areas were filled with a number of illegally parked vehicles. And the degree of segregation of pedestrian and vehicle and the level of safety were very low. Third, the streets with steep slopes of the target site force the elderly to move vertically, and for this reason, the elderly are expressing difficulties in outdoor activities. Fourth, it was found that the target site lacked a space for relaxation during outdoor activities. The poor walking environment not only limit the essential and social activities of the elderly, but also adversely affects the health and quality of life of the elderly. In order to maintain the health of the elderly and improve the quality of life, actions should be taken to improve the walking factors that affect the movement and external activities of the elderly.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.107-115
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• 2018

PURPOSES : As the population of the mobility handicapped, who are classified as the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, children, etc., has increased, the voices for guaranteeing their rights have been increasing as well. Thus, the design manuals for roads and sidewalks for the mobility handicapped were developed by the local government, such as the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Tourism, in Seoul City. However, according to the 2013 survey results of the Seoul Metropolitan City, the mobility handicapped still feel uncomfortable with the sidewalks, and particularly request for the improvement of the step and slope of the sidewalk curb. Therefore, in this study, we conducted an empirical experimental study to determine the slope of the sidewalk curb and height of the steps considering the mobility handicapped and analyzed whether there is a statistically significant difference. METHODS : The methodology of this study is an empirical experimental one. In the study, five non-disabled people, 10 wheelchair users, and 10 eye patch and stick users walked about 2-3 min on the sidewalk plates of the sloped type (0%, 5%, 6.3%, 8.3%) and stepped type (0 cm, 1 cm, 3 cm, 6 cm), and their human physiological responses, such as the skin temperature, volume of perspiration on forehead and chest, and heart rate, were measured and recorded. After combining the data, we conducted a nonparametric test, ANOVA, or t-test to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference according to each slope and step type. RESULTS : It was found that for the non-disabled, there was no significant difference in human physiological responses according to the slope and steps of the sidewalk. It can be said that the non-disabled do not feel much physiological discomfort while walking. In the case of the sloped sidewalk plate, the heart rate of the wheel chair users increased when the slope was 6.3%. In the case of the eye patch and stick users, the volume of perspiration on the chest increased at a slope of 5.0%. In general, it is judged that a sidewalk with a slope that is less than 5% does not cause a change in the physiological response. In the case of a stepped sidewalk plate, when 0 cm, 1 cm, and 3 cm were compared for wheelchair users, the amount of forehead perspiration increased from 1 cm. Meanwhile, in the case of the eye patch and stick users, when 0 cm and 6 cm were compared, the amount of perspiration on the forehead and chest as well as the heart rate all increased at 6 cm. Taken together, in the case of wheelchair users, a difference was shown when the height of the step of the sidewalk plate was 1 cm, suggesting that installing it at 0 cm does not cause any physiological discomfort. Moreover, in the case of the eye patch and stick users, when comparing only 0 cm and 6 cm, 0 cm was considered to be suitable, as there was a difference in physiological response at 6 cm. CONCLUSIONS : In this study, we set the human physiological responses such as chest skin temperature, amount of perspiration, and heart rate as evaluation items, and our study was considered to be a meaningful experiment that targeted wheelchair users as well as eye patch and stick users. The validity of the evaluation items was confirmed, as the results of human physiological responses were significant. As for the sidewalk design, according to the experiment result, it is considered that differential application should be implemented according to the type of mobility handicap, rather than uniformly applying a sidewalk step of 2 cm and sidewalk slope of 1/25, which are the current legal standards.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.543-554
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• 1995

This paper describes the improvement of driving stability and the control system for INMEL-VII which is motorized manual wheelchair to satisfy requirements of the disabled The INMEL-VI was based on high maneuverability of the omnidirection drive and safety But the results of field tests about two years showed some problems to the disabled in daily life such as driving stability, Pm switching noise, and rotation of motor without driving command on negative slope. To solve the problems due to an increased DC motor power and applied to direct connection method in INMEL- VII. It improved the driving circuits and set switching frequency to 5KHz to eliminate the switching noise caused by PWM control of DC motor, As compare with the INMEL-VI, INMEL-VII is improved in driving stability by transfer the weight center to forward. The results of field testing proved the improvement of the driving stability and software algorithm It has been estimated to have a hlgh practical use for powered walking aids to the disabled's daily life.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.883-892
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• 2019

This study is the method which is adapted to control ankle joint movement for resolving the problem of gait imbalance in intervals where gait environments are changed and slope walking, as applying terrain-adaptive technique to intelligent above-knee prosthesis. In this development of above-knee prosthesis, to classify the gait modes is essential. For distinguishing the stance phases and the swing phase depending on roads, a machine learning which combines decision tree and random forest from knee angle data and inertial sensor data, is proposed and adapted. By using this method, the ankle movement state of the prosthesis is controlled. This study verifies whether the problem is resolved through butterfly diagram.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.401-409
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of static recovery and dynamic recovery methods on heart rate, blood lactic acid concentration, and blood glucose during recovery after walking at the speed of 80bpm and 130+30bpm upon trekking of forest slopes in Taejo Mountain in Cheonan. 9 men in their 20s and 30s who had no abnormality in walking was subject to this experience. The result of through static recovery and dynamic recovery methods while trekking at the speed of 80bpm and 130+30bpm were analyzed by two-way repeated ANOVA. When there was a significant difference, the repeated method of contrast was applied to compare and analyze. The heart rate at 80bpm condition was significantly different depending on the method(p=.008) and time(p=.000) and there was no significant difference in blood lactic acid concentration for the recovery method(p=.401), but there was a significant difference depending on the time(p=.000). Blood glucose did not show significant difference according to the recovery method(p=.093), and there was significant difference depending on the time of static recovery method(p=.002). The heart rate in 130bpm + 30bpm condition was significantly different depending on to the method(p=.002) and time(p=.000), blood lactic acid concentration was significantly different depending on the method(p=.001) and time(p=.000), and blood glucose concentration was not significantly different between the time(p=090) and the method(p=.721).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.28-39
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to analyze users' behavior and facility satisfaction and to suggest the practical solution plans for environmental improvement of trails in Suseong recreation park in Daegu. Therefore, satisfaction factor analysis on trails was carried out based on a field and questionnaire survey in Suseong recreation park. First, from users' behavior, 48% of users visited Suseong recreation park for walking. The greatest response to number of visits was once or twice a week, and average use time per visit was 80.4 minutes. In terms of trails, the greater responses to the number of visits were once(38.1%) or more than 5 times(23.8%), and average use time was 45.4 minutes. According to the results from the analysis of facility satisfaction, management condition, length, slope, and adjacent natural landscape of trails were evaluated at a satisfaction rate higher than 3.4 points. However, water pollution, and number of exits and parking lots were analyzed at a low rate of 2.75 and 2.78 points, respectively. In terms of analyzing determining factors of facility satisfaction for trails, use of facilities, walking convenience, surrounding landscapes, amenities, and noise had a significantly positive effect on satisfaction. In particular, walking convenience was the highest effect factor; its standardized coefficient was 0.533. The findings from this study can contribute to the improvement of the physical environment for trails of Suseong recreation park and provide basic data for plan and maintenance of similar waterside trails.