Jodhpur: In a significant development, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur have designed robotic trainers that can be used in physiotherapy to treat lower limb disabilities.
Millions of people in India are afflicted with the locomotor disabilities, which are mostly caused by age-related issues, physical deformations, strokes, polio or accidents.
Lower limb rehabilitation, especially for gait recovery, is time consuming and sometimes involves multiple physiotherapists.
Recently, there has been interest in designing robotic devices for lower limb rehabilitation and Dr Jayant Kumar Mohanta, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Jodhpur, along with other researchers, designed the trainers, said a statement issued by the institute.
In robotic rehabilitation, the therapist only needs to provide supervision and the setting up of the device, it said.
“The robotic trainer we have designed will help provide physiotherapy to paralytic patients, and for those who have spinal cord injuries that have disrupted their lower limb functions,” said Dr Mohanta.
“Complete Rehabilitation is possible if the correct sequence of therapies is executed. Robots will be able to do it without getting tired,” he said.
The robotic trainer is a brace or a wearable device like an exoskeleton that supports the leg.
It’s provided with a Cartesian (3-directional) parallel manipulator to perform the required limb therapeutic motions in the transverse/horizontal/lateral and sagittal/longitudinal plane.
The design ensures a large workspace to execute the required range of motion therapies.
The usefulness of the designed stationary trainer was confirmed using computer-based simulations along with a motion control scheme by performing various clinically suggested therapeutic passive range of motions, the statement said.
The design could execute important essential rehabilitation therapeutic movements like abduction (the motion of a limb or appendage away from the midline of the body), adduction (the motion of a limb or appendage towards the midline of the body), flexion (bending movement), and extension of the hip and knee joints, the statement added.
The trainer proposed by the IIT Jodhpur team is conceptually simple and has a modular mechanical configuration that is easy to fix and use.
Furthermore, since only linear actuators are used for the hip and knee motions, the robot itself is stable, safe and robust during use.
