Optimizing Ankle Exoskeleton Assistance for Walking Across the Life Span
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 16
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Net Metabolic Rate (Watts/kg)
研究概览
简要总结
The investigators seek to determine whether ankle exoskeletons can reduce metabolic energy expenditure during walking for users across the age-spectrum.
详细描述
Older adults walk with greater metabolic rates than young adults. Growing evidence suggests that the greater older adult metabolic rates are related to the structural properties of their lower leg tissues. The tendons of the leg of older adults are more compliant than that of young adults. Accordingly, older adult leg tendons stretch more under a given load, such as during walking, causing their muscles to operate at shorter, less optimal lengths, and higher activity levels than the muscles of young adults - a less economical way to produces force.
Thus, the investigators seek to examine whether wearing wearable robotic boots (i.e., ankle exoskeletons) could enable muscles to produce force more economically. By adding an exoskeleton in-parallel to the ankle, the investigators hypothesize that older adults will walk with lower whole-body metabolic rate than without the exoskeleton assistance.
In this study, the investigators will have both young and older adult participants walk on a treadmill with a commercially available ankle exoskeleton set in multiple assistance modes. During these trials, the investigators will measure the metabolic cost of walking in young and older adults and also take many physiological and biomechanical measurements to help assess how exoskeletons work to reduce walking effort.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Non Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Basic Science
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Subjects must be able to walk for 60 minutes in a 90-minute time frame.
- •Subjects are apparently free of cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal disease, which includes no signs or symptoms suggestive of cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease.
- •Subjects have no current musculoskeletal injury.
- •Subjects need to be either 18-45 or 65+ years old.
- •These criteria meet the American College of Sports Medicine's 2015 guidelines for participant health screening prior to joining a moderate or moderate-to-vigorous exercise protocol. (Riebe et al., 2015).
排除标准
- •Have dementia or an inability to give informed consent
- •Have a musculoskeletal injury or feel pain while walking
- •Have a history of dizziness and/or balance problems
- •Have cardiovascular, heart, metabolic, or renal disease, or respiratory problems
- •Smoke cigarettes
- •Feel pain or discomfort in the chest, neck, jaw, arms during rest or exercise
- •Have orthopnea or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
- •Have ankle edema
- •Have palpitations or tachycardia
- •Have a heart murmur
- •Have had a heart attack
- •Have diabetes
- •Have a pace maker
- •Have unusual shortness of breath with usual activities
- •Are <18 or 46-64 years of age
- •Do not speak or understand English
研究组 & 干预措施
Young Adult Exoskeleton Users
Study participants who are 18-45 year old.
干预措施: Ankle Exoskeleton Assistance (Device)
Older Adult Exoskeleton Users
Study participants who are greater than 65 years of age.
干预措施: Ankle Exoskeleton Assistance (Device)
结局指标
主要结局
Net Metabolic Rate (Watts/kg)
时间窗: 3rd session, up to 2 weeks
The rate of metabolic energy that participants expend during a short walking bout in each of the experimental conditions.
次要结局
未报告次要终点