TY - JOUR
T1 - Ankle Exoskeleton Assistance Increases Six-Minute Walk Test Performance in Cerebral Palsy
AU - Conner, Benjamin
AU - Orekhov, Greg
AU - Lerner, Zachary
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Grants R15HD099664, R44HD104328, and F30HD103318. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 IEEE.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Objective: To determine the effects of providing battery-powered ankle dorsiflexor and plantar flexor exoskeleton assistance on six-minute walk test performance and efficiency in children and young adults with cerebral palsy by comparing distance walked under exoskeleton assisted (Assisted) and no device (Shod) walking conditions, and explore the acclimation rate to maximal walking with ankle exoskeleton assistance. Results: Six-minute walk test performance significantly improved under the final Assisted condition test compared to the Shod condition (42 ± 27 m, p = 0.02), surpassing the minimum clinically important difference range for children and young adults with CP. There was no difference in walking efficiency (-0.06 ± 0.1, p = 0.3). Participants had an average acclimation rate of 19.6 m per session. Conclusions: Powered ankle assistance can significantly improve six-minute walk test performance in individuals with mild-to-moderate gait impairment from CP, supporting the use of this intervention to improve functional mobility and walking capacity in this patient population.
AB - Objective: To determine the effects of providing battery-powered ankle dorsiflexor and plantar flexor exoskeleton assistance on six-minute walk test performance and efficiency in children and young adults with cerebral palsy by comparing distance walked under exoskeleton assisted (Assisted) and no device (Shod) walking conditions, and explore the acclimation rate to maximal walking with ankle exoskeleton assistance. Results: Six-minute walk test performance significantly improved under the final Assisted condition test compared to the Shod condition (42 ± 27 m, p = 0.02), surpassing the minimum clinically important difference range for children and young adults with CP. There was no difference in walking efficiency (-0.06 ± 0.1, p = 0.3). Participants had an average acclimation rate of 19.6 m per session. Conclusions: Powered ankle assistance can significantly improve six-minute walk test performance in individuals with mild-to-moderate gait impairment from CP, supporting the use of this intervention to improve functional mobility and walking capacity in this patient population.
KW - Ankle assistance
KW - cerebral palsy
KW - exoskeleton
KW - six-minute walk test
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U2 - 10.1109/OJEMB.2021.3135826
DO - 10.1109/OJEMB.2021.3135826
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85122793844
VL - 2
SP - 320
EP - 323
JO - IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology
JF - IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology
SN - 2644-1276
ER -