Authors (including presenting author) :
Ng CK (1), Lau TL (1), Yeung KY (1), Yu KP (1), Cheng KH (2), Chan KK (1), Chan KL (1), Wong CP (1), Cheung PC (2)
Affiliation :
(1) Community Rehabilitation Service Support Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (2) Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
Patients suffering from complete spinal cord injury (SCI) inevitably result in severe gait disorders or complete abolishment in normal gait pattern and functions. Exoskeletons have been suggested to assist patients with SCI to restore their functional abilities (Spungen et al., 2013), and to enable disabled people to participate in sports. In fact, whether it can be easily used by complete SCI patients independently for retore walking function is still being questioned.
Objectives :
To investigate the effect of gait training using powered lower limb exoskeletons (LLE) robot on individuals with complete spinal cord injury (SCI), and to see whether the individual subject can perform the daily activities task with the powered lower limb exoskeleton robot independently in a community environment in Hong Kong.
Methodology :
This is a prospective and case report study without control. The powered exoskeleton used in this study was manufactured by the FREE Bionics Taiwan Inc. The model name is FREE Walk and the model no. is FW-PR-01. It was designed to provide full kinetic energy to assist paraplegic patients on walking. 2 male subjects with complete SCI fulfilled the subject selection criteria were succussfully recruited. They have been arranged to undergo a total 32 sessions training program in using the powered lower limb exoskeleton robot for assist walking and perform five ADL tasks according to their ADL needs. The walking performance of each subject were recorded as followings for analysis: -The 6-minute walking distance achieved; -The time to achieve the 3-meter timed up & go task; -The 10-meter walking time; The exertional level in achieving the walking & designed ADL tasks was recorded using the Borg’s 20-RPE scale. The level of assistance in achieving the walking & designed ADL tasks was graded according to the manual description of the FREE Walk exoskeleton robot.
Result & Outcome :
Outcomes summary of this study: -Both subjects need minimal assistance (Subject = 75% or more) to complete the 6-minute walking task and the timed up & go task; -The timed up & go task achieving time was 68s & 73s for each subject respectively; -The 6-minute walking distance was 78m & 78.1m for each subject respectively; -The Borg’s 20-RPE scale in completing the 6-minute walking task was 13 and 10 for each subject respectively; -The 10-meter walking time was improved from 65s to 41s and 85s to 41s respectively for both subjects after the 32 sessions training protocol; - Walking speed achieved in the 10-meter walking task was changed from 0.15m/s and 0.12m/s to 0.24 m/s accordingly; The performance in the designated ADL tasks while using the lower limb exoskeleton robot has also been tested in this study. One subject needs minimal assistance (Subject = 75% or more) to complete all the 5 designated ADL tasks. The other subject can complete 4 designated ADL tasks with supervision and 1 task under minimal assistance (Subject = 75% or more) In summary, after 32 sessions training, patient with complete low thoracic level SCI can perform walking task using the lower limb exoskeleton robot at indoor environment under minimal assistance. Further study with more number of subjects is recommended to enrich the study outcomes.
