Evaluating and Improving Assistive Robotic Devices Continuously and in Real-time

Lower limb assistive robotic devices, such as active prosthesis, orthoses, and exoskeletons have the potential to restore function for the millions of Americans who experience mobility challenges due to injury and disability. Since individuals with mobility challenges have an increased metabolic costs of transport, the benefit of such assistive devices is commonly assessed via the reduction in the metabolic work rate of the individual who is using the device. Currently, metabolic work rate can only be obtained in a laboratory environment, using breath-by-breath measurements of respiratory gas analysis. To obtain a single steady state data point of metabolic work rate, multiple minutes of data must be collected, since the signals are noisy and slow. In addition, the user has to wear a mask and bulky equipment. The investigators propose an improved way to obtain such estimates of metabolic work rate in real-time. In this project, the investigators will use various small sensors to optimize push-off timing for an active ankle prosthesis.