Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of a Body Weight Support System

This paper proposes a body weight support (BWS) system with a series elastic actuator (SEA) to facilitate walking assistance and motor relearning during gait rehabilitation. This system comprises the following: a mobile platform that ensures movement of the system on the ground, a BWS mechanism with...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhendong Song, Wei Chen, Wenbing Wang, Guoqing Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2020-01-01
Series:Journal of Healthcare Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/2802574
Description
Summary:This paper proposes a body weight support (BWS) system with a series elastic actuator (SEA) to facilitate walking assistance and motor relearning during gait rehabilitation. This system comprises the following: a mobile platform that ensures movement of the system on the ground, a BWS mechanism with an SEA that is capable of providing the desired unloading force, and a pelvic brace to smooth the pelvis motions. The control of the body weight support is realized by an active weight-offload method, and a dynamic model of the BWS system with offload mass of a human is conducted to simulate the control process and optimize the parameters. Preliminary results demonstrate that the BWS system can provide the desired support force and vertical motion of the pelvis.
ISSN:2040-2295
2040-2309