Assistive walking devices are constantly gaining value in rehabilitation markets. The German Sports University Cologne recently published a study on non-electric assistive walking devices powered by a cam-spring mechanism, directly worn by orthopaedic and neurological patients.
The results indicate that patients benefit in terms of increased gait quality (step length, cadence and hip flexion improved during the assisted walking), while muscle activity stays unaffected by the assistive device.
The benefits on gait and movement pattern were detected and recorded by a matching setup of different technologies: an h/p/cosmos quasar treadmill with embedded pressure distribution deck by zebris and biomechanical systems from Qualisys, Noraxon and C-motion.
Another possible assistive, non-electric walking device would be the h/p/cosmos robowalk expander system, that can be easily installed or retrofitted to a (rehabilitation) treadmill and optional unweighting system.
The study by Dr. Boris Feodoroff and Vera Blümer is available here.
#biomechanics #rehablitation #gaittraining #robowalk #assistivedevice #gaittrainer #mocap