An international team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the Colombian University of San Buenaventura designed a robotic exoskeleton to assist in gait physiotherapy for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
He work, published in the journal Applied Sciences, focuses on the development of exoskeleton engineering, that is, the mechanical, electronic and control systems design. Numerical simulations validated the performance and robustness of the designed system which, if confirmed in the future clinical evaluation of the exoskeleton, would have a very positive impact on the patients’ quality of life.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a disease that affects nearly five out of every 100,000 male children. Being an X-linked disease, most children suffer from it. This dystrophy is characterized by causing muscle weakness and fatigue, lack of stability when walking, heart and respiratory complications, especially in adulthood.
This disease is characterized by causing muscle weakness and fatigue, lack of stability when walking, cardiac and respiratory complications.
These characteristics lead to the confinement of children in wheelchairs from a very early age. As it is considered a disease without a cure, efforts are aimed at preserving the patient’s autonomy as much as possible. In this sense, physiotherapy is the best tool to delay muscular dystrophy.
Given the lack of adequate technological tools to perform physiotherapy in patients with DMD, researchers from the University of San Buenaventura and the Polytechnic University of Madrid have developed the design of mechanical, electronic and control systems for a robotic exoskeleton that would allow automating the physiotherapy processes to these patients.
Exoskeleton project for therapy of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. /UPM
A tool for physiotherapy
This technology aims to support medical personnel in carrying out therapeutic processes with less physical fatigue, greater repeatability and better assessment of the patient’s progress.
For the engineering design of the robotic exoskeleton and the study of its performance, the researchers used a hybrid dynamic-mathematical model of the exoskeleton and the body of a child based on anthropometry of a population of six-year-old children. Numerical simulations validated the performance and robustness of the system.
If confirmed in future clinical evaluation, the exoskeleton would have a very positive impact on patients’ quality of life.
According to Álvaro Gutiérrez and Jaime Arcos-Legarda, researchers from the ETSI de Telecomunicações at the UPM who participated in the study: “this exoskeleton is conceived as an assistance tool for medical personnel, who in the end are responsible for supervising and adjusting the movement routines to achieve the rehabilitation goals.
Future research will focus on the clinical evaluation of the exoskeleton, which will show the positive impact that the use of this technology can have on the quality of life of children with DMD.
Reference:
Jaime Arcos-Legarda et al. Mechatronic design of a gait assist exoskeleton for the therapy of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Applied science (2023)