Exoskeleton design for functional rehabilitation in patients with neurological disorders and stroke

The prevalence of neurological disorders such as stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury is increasing quickly in the industrialised societies. Although the benefit of the use of technology in rehabilitation and neurorehabilitation programs is proved, the presence of mechatronic systems is still very low. This paper proposes a new lower limb exoskeleton for functional rehabilitation in persons with neurological pathologies. Since potential users have very reduced mobility even to start common daily movements, the control of the exoskeleton has to be intention based. The estimation of the intention of the user is based on hip and knee angle, and the EMG signal is monitored for intention detection, control and neurofeedback aims. A novel approach of a whole mechatronic system has been done in order to approach functional rehabilitation in patients with neurological disorders and stroke. The EMG to force conversion in paraplegic patients is also described.