The new electric "exoskeleton" allows amputees to walk easily! Energy consumption decreased by 15.6%

作者：库珀

Author: Cooper

编辑：寇建超

Editor: Kou Jianchao

由于一些事故或灾难，有不少人不得不截肢。

Because of some accidents or disasters, there are not a few people who have to be amputated.

膝关节截肢严重影响了数百万人的活动能力和生活质量。虽然市场上有一些腿部假肢可以辅助行走，但步行效率很低，步行经济性差，人疲劳，这是限制患者活动能力的主要问题。

Knee amputation has seriously affected the activity ability and quality of life of millions of people. Although there are some leg prostheses on the market that can assist walking, the walking efficiency is very low, the walking economy is poor and people are tired, which is a main problem restricting the mobility of patients.

为了改善残疾截肢者的行走问题，犹他大学仿生工程实验室的研究人员开发出了一套轻便的外骨骼，使用电动马达、微处理器和先进的算法来帮助截肢者行走，就像电动自行车帮助骑手踏上踏板上坡一样。

In order to improve the walking problems of amputees with disabilities, researchers in the Bionic Engineering Laboratory of the University of Utah have developed a set of light powered exoskeleton, which uses motors, microprocessors and advanced algorithms to help amputees walk, just as electric bicycles help riders step on the pedal uphill.

研究小组的相关论文发表在《自然医学》杂志上。实验数据表明，使用动态髋外骨骼辅助设备是提高截肢者步行经济性的可行方案，可显著降低步行的代谢成本，对活动有非常积极的影响，并能大大提高膝上截肢患者未来的生活质量。

The relevant papers of the research team were published in the journal Nature Medicine. The experimental data show that the use of dynamic hip exoskeleton assisted equipment is a feasible scheme to improve the walking economy of amputees, which can significantly reduce the metabolic cost of walking, have a very positive impact on activity, and can greatly improve the quality of life of patients with supraknee amputation in the future.

研究小组进行了一项研究，其中6名膝盖以上截肢的患者记录了他们的代谢率，测试了他们的外骨骼行走数据，并测量了他们的氧气摄入量和二氧化碳水平。所有测试外骨骼的人都增加了代谢率，平均减少了15.6%的能量消耗，这相当于卸下一个26磅（约11.79？K）重的背包。

The research team conducted a study in which six patients with amputation above the knee recorded their metabolic rate, tested their exoskeleton walking data, and measured their oxygen intake and carbon dioxide level. All the people who tested the exoskeleton increased their metabolic rate and reduced their energy consumption by an average of 15.6%, which is equivalent to unloading a 26 pound (about 11.79? K) A heavy backpack.

伦齐说，这是一个很大的进步。在实验中，截肢患者的行走代谢消耗量与健康人几乎没有区别。

Lenzi said that this is a great progress. In the experiment, the walking metabolic consumption of amputee patients is almost no different from that of a healthy person.

另一个关键因素是该设备具有独特的轻量级。框架由碳纤维制成，其他部件由塑料复合材料和铝制成。总的来说，外骨骼的重量只有5.4磅（约2.45千克）。

Another key factor is that the device has a unique lightweight. The frame is made of carbon fiber, while other parts are made of plastic composite and aluminum. Overall, the exoskeleton weighs only 5.4 pounds (about 2.45 ， K).

研究人员提出了一种控制算法，它可以在人们走路时自动优化外骨骼辅助，以最小化代谢成本。这种自动调整方法可能会带来最好的帮助。然而，与本研究中使用的手动非最佳调整相比，自动最佳调整需要更多的步行测试时间（例如64分钟），更长的调整时间可能会对截肢人群构成挑战。此外，自动调谐没有明确地考虑主观偏好。这些缺点可能解释了为什么自动调谐不能成功地降低截肢者行走的代谢成本，并且该方案仍需改进。

Researchers proposed a control algorithm, which can automatically optimize exoskeleton assistance when people walk to minimize metabolic cost. This automatic adjustment method may bring the best help. However, compared with the manual non optimal adjustment used in this study, the automatic optimal adjustment requires more walking test time (e.g. 64 minutes), and the longer adjustment time may pose a challenge to the amputee population. In addition, automatic tuning does not explicitly consider subjective preferences. These shortcomings may explain why automatic tuning can not successfully reduce the metabolic cost of walking in amputees, and the scheme still needs to be improved.

此外，更多的问题将在未来通过外科干预解决，如接骨或大腿成形术。如果在保持使用者舒适的同时增加辅助扭矩，研究人员可以增加电动外骨骼注入的能量，进一步降低行走的代谢成本，这为建立新的截肢者护理标准提供了新的方案。

Furthermore, more problems will be solved in the future through surgical interventions, such as osteosynthesis or thighplasty. If the auxiliary torque can be increased while maintaining the user's comfort, researchers can increase the energy injected by the electric exoskeleton and further reduce the metabolic cost of walking, which provides a new scheme for establishing a new nursing standard for amputees.

伦齐说："国家科学基金会的拨款将使我们能够继续这项工作，并创造更好的设备，帮助更多的残疾人恢复行走能力。"。

"The NSF grant will enable us to continue this work and create better equipment to help more disabled people restore their walking ability," Lenzi said.

纸质链接：

Paper link:

https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/power-walk/

https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/power-walk/

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update time：2021-11-01 10:45:55