WARD: a pneumatic system for body weight relief in gait rehabilitation

Author

Gazzani, Fabio ; Macellari, Velio ; Torre, Marina ; Castellano, Vincenzo ; Coratella, Daniela

Author_Institution

Ist. Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy

Volume

2

fYear

1996

fDate

31 Oct-3 Nov 1996

Firstpage

547

Abstract

A system for walking rehabilitation is presented, WARD (Walking Assistance and Rehabilitation Device), devised to relieve the patient of his/her body weight of a constant and prescribed amount. This is obtained by externally supporting the patient at the upper trunk or pelvis level through a harness. The system is based on a pneumatic actuator that has been proved to be effective at maintaining a constant relief force. The components of WARD are described: frame, body weight relief (BWR) apparatus, control and data acquisition equipment, treadmill. The results obtained in pilot sessions on patients affected by various pathologies are promising

Keywords

biomechanics; orthotics; pneumatic systems; WARD; body weight relief apparatus; constant relief force; data acquisition equipment; external patient support; gait rehabilitation; harness; pathologies; pelvis level; pneumatic system; treadmill; upper trunk; walking rehabilitation system; Bars; Data acquisition; Engine cylinders; Force measurement; Legged locomotion; Mechanical cables; Pneumatic systems; Pulleys; Steel; Valves;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1996. Bridging Disciplines for Biomedicine. Proceedings of the 18th Annual International Conference of the IEEE

Conference_Location

Amsterdam

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3811-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.1996.651857

Filename

651857