Lateral balance supporting device for postural reflex ambulatory experiments

Tytus Wojtara, Makoto Sasaki, Shingo Shimoda, Fady Alnajjar, Hidenori Kimura

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The human balance, the ability to keep ones body upright while standing or walking, deteriorates in old age or can be compromised after accidents or brain surgeries. With the aged society, age related balance problems are on the rise. Persons with balance problems are more likely to fall during their everyday life routines. Especially in elderly, falls can lead to bone fractures making the patient bedridden, weakening the body and making it more prone to other diseases. Health care expenses for a fall patient are often very high. There is a great deal of research being done on exoskeletons and power assists. However, these technologies concentrate mainly on the amplifications of human muscle power while balance has to be provided by the human themself. Our research has been focused on supporting human balance in harmony with the human's own posture control mechanisms such as postural reflexes. This paper proposes an artificial balancer that supports human balance through acceleration of a flywheel attached to the body. Appropriate correcting torques are generated through our device based on the measurements of body deflections. In this paper we present ambulatory experiments on a balance beam. These experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of our device in supporting balance while walking and the possibility of enhancing balance-keeping capability in human beings through the application of external torque.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2012 4th IEEE RAS and EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, BioRob 2012
Pages1765-1769
Number of pages5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes
Event2012 4th IEEE RAS and EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, BioRob 2012 - Rome, Italy
Duration: Jun 24 2012Jun 27 2012

Publication series

NameProceedings of the IEEE RAS and EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics
ISSN (Print)2155-1774

Conference

Conference2012 4th IEEE RAS and EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, BioRob 2012
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityRome
Period6/24/126/27/12

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

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