Effective gait therapy is critical to children who have difficulty walking due to developmental, neurologic, or orthopedic conditions. Current gait training technologies can be cost prohibitive and often do not address the needs of children of varying sizes. In addition, clinicians often need to provide significant physical assistance to children with profound weakness. Based on the success of an elliptical-based adult-sized intelligently controlled assistive rehabilitation elliptical (ICARE) system for gait training, a modified technology was proposed to address the needs of younger/smaller children. The new design relied on a screw-and-slider joint to adjust the effective length of the crank link in the elliptical mechanism, reducing the step length and stride height simultaneously. The new trajectories of the foot pedal were normalized against stride length and showed nearly identical trajectories between pediatric strides and adult strides. Simulation results and human usability studies verified that the design was feasible.
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December 2015
Research-Article
Modification of the ICARE System for Pediatric Therapy
Carl A. Nelson,
Carl A. Nelson
Department of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
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Cale J. Stolle,
Cale J. Stolle
Department of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
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Judith M. Burnfield,
Judith M. Burnfield
Movement and Neurosciences Center,
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
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Thad W. Buster
Thad W. Buster
Movement and Neurosciences Center,
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Search for other works by this author on:
Carl A. Nelson
Department of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
Cale J. Stolle
Department of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
Materials Engineering,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, W342 NH,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0526
Judith M. Burnfield
Movement and Neurosciences Center,
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Thad W. Buster
Movement and Neurosciences Center,
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering,
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
5401 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
Manuscript received February 28, 2015; final manuscript received March 23, 2015; published online August 6, 2015. Editor: Gerald E. Miller.
J. Med. Devices. Dec 2015, 9(4): 041010 (6 pages)
Published Online: August 6, 2015
Article history
Received:
February 28, 2015
Revision Received:
March 23, 2015
Citation
Nelson, C. A., Stolle, C. J., Burnfield, J. M., and Buster, T. W. (August 6, 2015). "Modification of the ICARE System for Pediatric Therapy." ASME. J. Med. Devices. December 2015; 9(4): 041010. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4030276
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