The effect of a hybrid assistive limb<sup>®</sup> on sit-to-stand and standing patterns of stroke patients
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- Kasai Rie
- Department of Physical Therapy, International University of Health and Welfare: 4-3 Kozunomori, Narita City, Chiba 286-8686, Japan
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- Takeda Sunao
- Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Japan
Bibliographic Information
- Other Title
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- The effect of a hybrid assistive limb® on sit-to-stand and standing patterns of stroke patients
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Description
[Purpose] The Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL®) robot suit is a powered exoskeleton that can assist a user’s lower limb movement. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of HAL® in stroke rehabilitation, focusing on the change of the sit-to-stand (STS) movement pattern and standing posture. [Subjects and Methods] Five stroke patients participated in this study. Single leg HAL® was attached to each subject’s paretic lower limb. The subjects performed STS three times both with and without HAL® use. A tri-axial accelerometer was used to assess the STS movement pattern. Forward-tilt angle (FTA) and the time required for STS were measured with and without HAL® use. Surface electromyography (EMG) of STS and standing were recorded to assess the vastus medialis muscle activities of the paretic limb. [Results] The average FTA without HAL® use was 35° and it improved to 43° with HAL® use. The time required for STS was longer for all subjects with HAL® use (without HAL® use: 3.42 s, with HAL® use: 5.11 s). The integrated EMGs of HAL® use compared to those without HAL®, were 83.6% and 66.3% for STS and standing, respectively. [Conclusion] HAL® may be effective in improving STS and standing patterns of stroke patients.
Journal
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- Journal of Physical Therapy Science
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Journal of Physical Therapy Science 28 (6), 1786-1790, 2016
The Society of Physical Therapy Science
