• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.17 no.8
• /
• pp.814-823
• /
• 2011

Nowadays many neurological diseases such as stroke and Parkinson diseases are continually increasing. Orthotic devices as well as exoskeletons have been widely developed for supporting movement assistance and therapy of patients. Robotic knee orthosis can compensate stiff-knee gait of the paralyzed limb and can provide patients consistent assistance at wearable environments. With keeping a robotic orthosis wearable, however, it is not easy to develop a compact and safe actuator with fast rotation and high torque for consistent supports of patients during walking. In this paper, we propose a novel kinematic model for a robotic knee orthosis to drive a knee joint with independent actuation during swing and stance phases, which can allow an actuator with fast rotation to control swing motions and an actuator with high torque to control stance motions, respectively. The suggested kinematic model is composed of a hamstring device with a slide-crank mechanism, a quadriceps device with five-bar/six-bar links, and a patella device for knee covering. The quadriceps device operates in five-bar links with 2-dof motions during swing phase and is changed to six-bar links during stance phase by the contact motion to the patella device. The hamstring device operates in a slider-crank mechanism for entire gait cycle. The kinematics and velocity/force relations are analyzed for the quadriceps and hamstring devices. Finally, the adequate actuators for the suggested kinematic model are designed based on normal gait requirements. The suggested kinematic model will allow a robotic knee orthosis to use compact and light actuators with full support during walking.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2015

Objectives This study was aimed to offer basic data in long term drug efficacy test using monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthrits model. Methods Sixty male rats were divided into normal and osteoarthritic group. Rats of normal group were injected with 0.1 ml physiological saline, and rats of osteoarthritic group were inected with 0.1 ml monosodium iodoacetate (3 mg/ml) into each left and right knee joint cavities. Gross examination, proteoglycan contents and histopathological examination on the knee joint were performed at 10, 20, 40, and 60 days after injection. Results Grossly, degenerative changes at 10 days, desquamation at 40 days, and ulceration of articular cartilages at 60 days were observed. Proteoglycan contents in articular cartilages were decreased rapidly to 40 days, after than decreased gradually. Osteoarthritic scores were increased rapidly to 20 days, after than increased gradually to 60 days. Conclusions From above results, osteoarthritis model induced by a single intra-articular injection of monosodium iodoacetete is useful model for long term drug efficacy test.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2014

Recent experimental observations support the hypothesis that mechanical stimuli play a role in regulating the specialized molecular expression of articular cartilage in vitro and in vivo. Other studies have demonstrated that the continuous passive motion(CPM)bioreactor for whole joints can provide a platform for possible future in vitro studies and applications, including possible interactions of bio-mechanical and biochemical signals. In this study, we have developed acustom-made bioreactor capable of bending and stretching with circular type motion, and a biomimetic knee joint model, using a 3D printer. This system could be used to investigate the effects of rehabilitative joint motion of dynamic culture.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.12
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2007

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.8
• /
• pp.171-179
• /
• 2004

The purpose of this study is to generate cycling motion for FES (functional electrical stimulation) using knee muscles only. We investigated the possibility by simulation. The musculoskeletal model used in this simulation was simplified as 5-rigid links and 2 muscles (knee extensor and flexor). For the improvement of the present feedforward control in FES, we included feedback path in the control system. The control system was developed based on the biological neuronal system and was represented by three sub-systems. The first is a higher neuronal system that generates the motion command for each joint. The second is the lower neuronal system that divides the motion command to each muscle. And the third is a sensory feedback system corresponding to the somatic sensory system. Control system parameters were adjusted by a genetic algorithm (GA) based on the natural selection theory. GA searched the better parameters in terms of the cost function where the energy consumption, muscle force smoothness, and the cycling speed of each parameter set (individual) are evaluated. As a result, cycling was implemented using knee muscles only. The proposed control system based on the nervous system model worked well even with disturbances.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.57-62
• /
• 2014

Most analytical models of the human body have focused on conscious responses. A patellar tendon reflex, a representative example of spinal reflexes, occurs without a neural command. Muscle forces and activation of the quadriceps femoris muscles in healthy adults during patellar tendon reflex are identified in this study. The model is assumed to move in the sagittal plane, and the thigh and the trunk are assumed to be fixed in a sitting position so that the shank can move similar to a pendulum. The knee joint is modeled as a revolute joint, and the ankle joint is modeled as a fixed joint so that the shank and the foot can be regarded as one rigid body. Muscle forces are calculated following the inverse dynamic approach. Kinematic data obtained from an experiment (Mamizuka, 2007) are used as input data. Muscle activations are identified using a Hill-type muscle model. The obtained simulation results are compared with experimental results for validating the model and the underlying assumptions.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.87-93
• /
• 2013

Objectives : Degenerative arthritis arises from several physiological factors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the beneficial effects of Phyto-extract Complex (CME) on degenerative arthritis. Methods : CME is composed of extracts of mulberry (Morus alba L.) fruit, mulberry leaves and black beans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). To measure the toxicity of CME, we performed the single-dose toxicity study. For the evaluation of its effects on degenerative arthritis, we examined the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity, using in vitro enzyme activity assay, the reduction of protein expression of COX-2, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in RAW264.7 cells which were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We also examined the serum level of prostaglandins (PGs) and injury of the knee joint cartilage, using animal model of degenerative arthritis induced by mono-sodium iodoacetate (MIA). Results : CME did not have any toxicity in single-dose toxicity study. The CME inhibited the activity of COX-2 and could reduce the protein expression of COX-2, 5-LO and iNOS in RAW264.7 cells. The CME also reduced the serum level of PGs and prevented from the cartilage injury of knee joint in animal model of degenerative arthritis induced by MIA. Conclusions : Taken altogether, the CME could be useful for the improvement of degenerative arthritis through its various anti-inflammatory activities and prevention from the cartilage injury of knee joint.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.153-159
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to develop an innovative training model and method to improve the posture and motion, while pulling up during weight lifting by evaluating the problems of Korean weight lifters performing this motion. To investigate the effectiveness of the new training method substitute members of the Korean national weight lifting team performed both the original pull up technique and new pulling training technique while kinetics and kinematics were recorded. For this study, the first phase of the new training method is more appropriate than the original training with the pull up drop slow deadlift to the knee joint. For the second phase, the new training motion is deemed to be more effective than the current box deadlift motion. Also, this new motion corrects the posture as there is more anterior hip joint motion(about 10 cm) and the knee flexes to about 120 degrees. For the third phase, starting about 10cm above the knee the box snatch high pull up is identified as a more suitable training method. For the forth phase, the box top snatch method is judged to be a more effective training method than the original top snatch training method.

• Journal of IKEEE
• /
• v.7 no.1 s.12
• /
• pp.119-126
• /
• 2003

This paper presents a methodology for constructing a surgical simulation environment for the replacement of artificial knee join using CT image data. We provide a user interface of preoperative planning system for performing complex 3-D spatial manipulation and reasoning tasks. Simple manipulation of joystick and mouse has been proved to be both intuitive and accurate for the fitness and the wear expect of joint. The proposed methodology are useful for future virtual medical system where all the components of visualization, automated model generation, and surgical simulation are integrated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.30 no.4 s.247
• /
• pp.457-464
• /
• 2006

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is liable to a major injury that often results in a functional impairment requiring surgical reconstruction. The success of reconstruction depends on such factors as attachment positions, initial tension of ligament and surgical methods of fixation. The purpose of this study is to find isometric positions of the substitute during flexion/extension. The distance between selected attachments on the femur and tibia was computed from a set of measurements using a 6 degree-of-freedom magnetic sensor system. A three-dimensional knee model was constructed from CT images and was used to simulate length change during knee flexion/extension. This model was scaled for each subject. Twenty seven points on the tibia model and forty two points on the femur model were selected to calculate length change. This study determined the maximum and minimum distances to the tibial attachment during flexion/extension. The results showed that minimum length changes were $1.9{\sim}5.8mm$ (average $3.6{\pm}1.4mm$). The most isometric region was both the posterosuperior and anterior-diagonal areas from the over-the-top. The proposed method can be utilized and applied to an optimal reconstruction of ACL deficient knees.