Photograph courtesy of Haoyong Yu.
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a lightweight, portable, robotic KAFO that can be used for post-stroke gait rehabilitation in outpatient and home settings, reducing the labor-intensity of current methods of physical therapy. According to the research, published in the January edition of the IEEE Life Sciences newsletter, the knee and ankle joints are designed so that the robot can provide assistance with various gait impairments, and actuators on the KAFO ensure patient safety. The researchers indicated that, to the best of their knowledge, this is the first lower-limb exoskeleton with both powered knee and ankle joints driven by electrical motors.
The research team was one of three winners of the poster session at the 2013 IEEE Life Sciences Grand Challenges Conference in December, which was held in Singapore.
