• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.9-18
• /
• 2008

Purpose: We determined the effect of global synkinesis(GS) on gait ability, muscle contraction, and central neuron action potentials in post-stroke hemiplegic subjects. Methods: Thirty hemiplegia patients were evaluated for walking ability, muscle contraction, central neuron action potential, and comparing differences between the H-GS(high-global synkinesis) group and L-GS(low-global synkinesis) group. To obtain the GS level, surface electromyography(EMG) data were digitized and processed to root mean square(RMS). Walking ability was tested with a modified motor assessment scale(MMAS), a 10 m walking test, timed up and go(TUG) test, and a Fugl-Meyer assessment(FMA). Muscle contraction ability was measured as maximal isometric contraction(MIC) peak, MIC slope, and MIC ramp up using mechanomyography(MMG). Central neuron action potential was measured as the H/Mmax ratio or V/Mmax ratio using EMG. The data were analyzed with t-tests to determine the statistical significance. Results: MMAS(p<0.01), 10 m walking velocity(p<0.01), TUG(p<0.01), FMA-HKA(Hip, Knee, Ankle)(p<0.05), FMA-coordination(p<0.05), MIC peak (p<0.05), MIC slope(p<0.01), and MIC ramp up(p<0.05) were significantly different between H-GS and L-GS, as was the V/Mmax ratio(p<0.05), but H/Mmax was not. Conclusion: Lower GS levels indicated better walking ability and motor function. Therefore, intervention programs should consider GS levels in gait training of chronic hemiplegia.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.344-350
• /
• 2010

The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the flexion withdrawal reflex modulated during Lokomat treadmill walking in people with spinal cord injury. The influence of the limb position and movement were tested in 5 subjects with chronic spinal cord injury. EMG activities from tibialis anterior and moments of the hip joint elicited by the foot stimulation were examined during Lokomat treadmill walking. To trigger the flexion withdrawal reflex during Lokomat treadmill walking, a train of 10 stimulus pulses was applied at the skin of the medial arch. The TA EMG activity was modulated during gait phase and the largest TA reflex was obtained after heel-off and initial swing phase. During swing phase, TA EMG was 40.9% greater for the extended hip position (phase 6), compared with flexed hip position (phase 8). The measured reflex moment of the hip joint was also modulated during gait phase. In order to characterize the neural contribution of flexion reflex at the hip joint, we compared estimated moments consisted of the static and dynamic components with measured moment of the hip joint. The mean static gains of reflex hip moments for swing and stance phase are -0.1, -0.8, respectively. The mean dynamic gains of reflex hip moments are 0.25 for swing, 0.75 for stance phase. From this study, we postulate that the joint moment and muscle response of flexion withdrawal reflex have the phase-dependent modulation and linear relationship with hip angle and angular velocity for swing phase during Lokomat treadmill walking.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.177-184
• /
• 1987

The quantitative mechanics on the sideways walking of the crabs may provide a basic solution for entanglements of the walking legs in gillnets. The gaiting behaviour of the crabs on the flat board and the nettings 10, 16 and 23 mm in mesh size were experimented concerning about stepping positions and times in the laboratory using video set on July, 1984, It was found that the irregular movements of walking crabs in stepping positions and patterns were appeared on the nettings due to the absence of mechanical contact in spite of neural control of compensating, while on the flat surface evolved systematic leg movements. The mean stride length and walking velocity, which were increased with the carapace width on the flat board, as well as the step period and forward by backward stroke time were greater than those values on the netting, not associated with the carapace or the mesh size. Also, the step period and the Phase difference on the nettings revealed larger fluctuation than on the flat board. The joint angles of the walking legs, on the nettings in meropodite-carporodite and thorax-meropodite, which joint was varied especially up to below horizon because of the falling legs through the netting twine, were virtually wider than those on the flat substrate.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.478-487
• /
• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to analyze the effect of wearable complex muscle support system on energy efficiency during walking in elderly. Design: Cross sectional study Methods: Twenty healthy elderly participated in this study. All subjects performed a 6 minuteswalk test(6MWT) and stair climbing test in dual, slack and no suit conditions. In each condition, oxygen consumption(VO₂), metabolic equivalents(METs), energy expenditure measures(EEm), physiological cost index(PCI), walking velocity and heartrate were measured. Through repeated measured ANOVA, it was investigated whether there was a statistically significant difference in the measurement results between the three conditions. Results: In over-ground walking, VO₂, METs and EEm showed significant differences between no suit and slack conditions(p<0.05). In stair climbing, VO₂ showed significant difference between slack and dual conditions(p<0.05). Also, METs and EEm showed significant differences between no suit and slack, and between slack and dual conditions(p<0.05). Conclusions: Wearing the wearable complex muscle support system for elderly does not have much benefit in energy metabolism efficiency in over-ground, but there is a benefit in stair walking.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.197-202
• /
• 2001

The biomechanical analysis of the load carrying effect on different floor surfaces has been conducted. Four different floor surfaces were prepared for ten subjects with each walking at a fixed velocity(1.33 m/sec) while carrying five different loads. The results showed that because of the significant interaction effect between floor slipperiness and the load carrying task, the load carrying effect should be analyzed according to different levels of the floor slipperiness, especially contaminant floors. On oily surfaces, slip distance(SD) and heel velocity (HV) increased whereas stride length(SL) decreased as load increased. In other words, significantly longer SD, faster HV, and no normal gait were found as load increased. As a result, a different protocol should be applied to measure floor slipperiness on oily floors as compared to dry surfaces for tribological approach.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.153-168
• /
• 2005

The purposes of this study were to determine the influence of midsole hardness and sole thickness of sports shoes on ball flex angle and position with increment of running velocity. The subjects employed for this study were 10 college students who did not have lower extremity injuries for the last one year and whose running pattern was rearfoot striker of normal foot. The shoes used in this study had 3 different midsole hardness of shore A 40, shore A 50, shore A 60 and 3 different sole thickness of 17cm, 19cm, 21cm. The subjects were asked to run at 3 different speed of 2.0m/sec, 3.5m/sec, 5.0m/sec and their motions were videotaped with 4 S-VHS video cameras and 2 high speed video cameras and simultaneously measured with a force platform. The following results were obtained after analysing and comparing the variables. Minimum angle of each ball flex position were increased with the increment of running velocity and shoe sole thickness(P<0.05), but mid-sole hardness did not affect minimum ball flex angle. The position which minimum angle was shown as smallest was 'D'. Midsole hardness and sole thickness did not affect time to each ball flex minimum angle, total angular displacement of ball flex angle, and total angular displacement of torsion angle(P<0.05). The position which minimum angle was appeared to be earliest was similar at walking velocity, and E and F of midfoot region at running velocity. Total angular displacement of ball flex position tended to increase as shifted to heel. It was found that running velocity had effects on ball flex angle variables, but shoe sole thickness partially affected. It would be considered that running velocity made differences between analysis variables at walking and running when designing shoes. Also, it was regarded that shoes would be developed at separated region, because ball flex angle and position was shown to be different at toe and heel region. It is necessary that midsole hardness and thickness required to functional shoes be analyzed in the further study.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.2660-2664
• /
• 2003

In this study, the concept of autonomous mobility is applied to a medical service robot. The aim of the development of the service robot is for the elderly assisting walking rehabilitation. This study aims that the service robot design parameter is proposed in ergonomic view. The walking assistant path pattern is derived from analyzing the elderly gait analysis. A lever is installed in the AMR in order to measure the pulling force and the leading force of the elderly. A lever mechanism is applied for walking assistant service of the AMR. This lever is designed for measuring the leading force of the elderly. The elderly adjusts the velocity of the robot by applying force to the lever. The action scope and the service mechanism of the robot are developed for considering and analyzing the elderly action patterns. The ergonomic design parameters, that is, dimensions, action scope and working space are determined based on the elderly moving scope. The gait information is acquired by measuring the guide lever force by load cells and working pattern by the electromyography signal.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.497-502
• /
• 2015

One of the goals in the field of mobile robotics is the development of personal service robots for the elderly which behave in populated environments. In this paper, we describe a security robot system and ongoing research results that minimize the risk of the elderly and the infirm to access an area to enter restricted areas with high potential for falls, such as stairs, steps, and wet floors. The proposed robot system surveys a potential falling area with an equipped laser scanner sensor. When it detects walking in elderly or infirm patients who in restricted areas, the robot calculates the velocity vector, plans its own path to forestall the patient in order to prevent them from heading to the restricted area and starts to move along the estimated trajectory. The walking human is assumed to be a point-object and projected onto a scanning plane to form a geometrical constraint equation that provides position data of the human based on the kinematics of the mobile robot. While moving, the robot continues these processes in order to adapt to the changing situation. After arriving at an opposite position to the human's walking direction, the robot advises them to change course. The simulation and experimental results of estimating and tracking of the human in the wrong direction with the mobile robot are presented.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.4 s.181
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2006

In this paper, we propose an optimal trajectory for biped robots to move up-and-down stairs using a genetic algorithm and a computed-torque control for biped robots to be dynamically stable. First, a Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm (RCGA) which of operators are composed of reproduction, crossover and mutation is used to minimize the total energy. Constraints are divided into equalities and inequalities: Equality constraints consist of a position condition at the start and end of a step period and repeatability conditions related to each joint angle and angular velocity. Inequality constraints include collision avoidance conditions of a swing leg at the face and edge of a stair, knee joint conditions with respect to the avoidance of the kinematic singularity, and the zero moment point condition with respect to the stability into the going direction. In order to approximate a gait, each joint angle trajectory is defined as a 4-th order polynomial of which coefficients are chromosomes. The effectiveness of the proposed optimal trajectory is shown in computer simulations with a 6-dof biped robot that consists of seven links in the sagittal plane. The trajectory is more efficient than that generated by the modified GCIPM. And various trajectories generated by the proposed GA method are analyzed in a viewpoint of the consumption energy: walking on even ground, ascending stairs, and descending stairs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2019

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of observing a self-video or a video of another person performing balance and gait training, followed by actual performance of the observed movements on the balance and walking ability of chronic stroke patients. METHODS: Thirty patients, who had experienced a stroke and were admitted to S rehabilitation hospital for treatment, were selected randomly and divided into three groups with 10 patients each: self-action observation (SAO) group, other-action observation (OAO) group, and treadmill walking training (TWT) group. The training program was conducted five times per week for four weeks. The GAITRite system, 10 m walking test, and timed up and go test were performed to measure the subjects' gait and balance ability. RESULTS: The velocity, cadence, double support, and stride length were increased significantly in the SAO and OAO groups (p<.05) but the T group showed no significant changes; no significant difference was observed among the groups (p >.05). The 10MWT decreased significantly in the OAO group (p<.05), but there were no significant changes in the SAO and T groups, and no significant difference was observed among the groups (p>.05). The TUG decreased significantly in the SAO and OAO groups (p<.05), but there were no significant changes in the T group, and no significant difference was observed among the groups (p>.05). CONCLUSION: The self or other action observation training helps improve the balance and gait ability.