The tumbler exoskeleton

A hip exoskeleton will protect the elderly from falls

Vasily Sychev, N+1

Researchers from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne have developed a new lightweight exoskeleton that should save elderly people from accidental falls. Details of the researchers' work are published in Scientific Reports (Monaco et al., An ecologically-controlled exoskeleton can improve balance recovery after slippage), and their summary is provided by the press service of EPFL - A powered exoskeleton prevents the elderly from falling. The new device is called APO (Active Pelvis Orthosis, active pelvic orthosis).

Due to various diseases, elderly people may have difficulty coordinating movements. In addition, reactions slow down in old age. As a result, if a person stumbles or puts his foot incorrectly due to impaired coordination, he may fall and get severe bruises or even fractures of the limbs, some of which may not heal in old age.

The APO exoskeleton is designed to prevent accidental falls. When walking normally, the exoskeleton does not work, however, if its control system determines that a person, for example, has stumbled, active hip and pelvic support will be enabled. This will prevent a fall. The exoskeleton needs only 350 milliseconds to detect an incipient fall and prevent it.

The exoskeleton is made of three main elements: a belt and two hip mounts. The hip mounts are connected to the belt by rods, which are driven by servos. All elements of the exoskeleton are made of plastic and carbon fiber. The weight of the device is 4.2 kilograms, but it is planned to reduce it.

The prototype device is connected by a power and data cable to a desktop computer with control software. The prototype was tested on ten elderly volunteers who, wearing an exoskeleton, walked on a treadmill that periodically jerked the canvas to provoke stumbling. Two of the volunteers wore prosthetic lower limbs.

During the tests, thanks to the support of the APO exoskeleton, none of the volunteers fell. In the near future, the researchers intend to test the prototype in real conditions, as well as refine its design to reduce the mass of the device. It is not yet known when mass production of the exoskeleton can begin.

Last December, an international group of researchers presented an exoskeleton with a neurointerface that allows partially restoring limb mobility in paralyzed patients. The system can be mounted on a wheelchair and equipped with a false alarm protection mechanism.

The device was tested on six volunteers. All the subjects got used to the system in no more than ten minutes, having learned to perform a hand grip and interrupt an unexpected movement. The system was mounted on a wheelchair for use outside the laboratory and the volunteers were able to visit a restaurant where they ate and paid on their own.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  15.05.2017