A versatile neuromuscular exoskeleton controller for gait assistance: A preliminary study on spinal cord injury patients

Abstract

We investigated the capabilities of a reflex-based neuromuscular controller with a knee and hip gait trainer worn by a subject with a complete spinal cord injury. With controller assistance, this subject was able to reach a walking speed of 1.0m/s. Measured joint torques agreed reasonably well with those of healthy subjects. The controller was also robust, recovering from manual swing foot perturbations. These preliminary results are promising for future implementation of neuromuscular controllers on wearable prototypes for real-world walking conditions.