TY - JOUR
T1 - The Kickstart Walk Assist System for improving balance and walking function in stroke survivors
T2 - a feasibility study
AU - Yao, Jiajia
AU - Sado, Takashi
AU - Wang, Wenli
AU - Gao, Jiawen
AU - Zhao, Yichao
AU - Qi, Qi
AU - Mukherjee, Mukul
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr. Jun?J. Wu, Mr. Brian Glaister and Mrs. Chie Kawahara for their technical support and comments to the manuscript. We are grateful to Shanghai Yangzhi Rehabilitation Center (Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center) for their support during the study.
Funding Information:
Shanghai Real Star Rehabilitation Equipment Co., Ltd. supplied the Kickstart exoskeleton devices and provided financial support to fund the clinical study at Sunshine Rehabilitation Center. Support was provided by the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence grant (1P20GM109090-01) from NIGMS/NIH, by a NASA EPSCoR Grant (80NSSC18M0076), and an American Heart Association award (18AIREA33960251) for MM and from a Graduate Research and Creative Activity Award (GRACA) for TS. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NASA, NIH or AHA.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background: Compared with traditional physical therapy for stroke patients, lower extremity exoskeletons can provide patients with greater endurance and more repeatable and controllable training, which can reduce the therapeutic burden of the therapist. However, most exoskeletons are expensive, heavy or require active power to be operated. Therefore, a lighter, easy to wear, easy to operate, low-cost technology for stroke rehabilitation would be a welcome opportunity for stroke survivors, caregivers and clinicians. One such device is the Kickstart Walk Assist system and the purpose of this study was to determine feasibility of using this unpowered exoskeleton device in a sample of stroke survivors. Methods: Thirty stroke survivors were enrolled in the study and experienced walking with the Kickstart exoskeleton device that provided spring-loaded assistance during gait. After 5 days of wearing the exoskeleton, participants were evaluated in the two states of wearing and not wearing the exoskeleton. Outcome measures included: (a) spatio-temporal gait measures, (b) balance measures and (c) exoskeleton-use feedback questionnaire. Results: In comparison to not wearing the device, when participants wore the Kickstart walking system, weight bearing asymmetry was reduced. The time spent on the 10-m walk test was also reduced, but there was no difference in the timed-up-and-go test (TUGT). Gait analysis data showed reduction in step time and double support time. Stroke survivors were positive about the Kickstart walking system’s ability to improve their balance, speed and gait. In addition, their confidence level and willingness to use the device was also positive. Conclusions: These findings show the feasibility of using the Kickstart walking system for improving walking performance in stroke survivors. Our future goal is to perform a longer duration study with more comprehensive pre- and post-testing in a larger sample of stroke survivors. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000032665. Registered 5 May 2020—Retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=53288
AB - Background: Compared with traditional physical therapy for stroke patients, lower extremity exoskeletons can provide patients with greater endurance and more repeatable and controllable training, which can reduce the therapeutic burden of the therapist. However, most exoskeletons are expensive, heavy or require active power to be operated. Therefore, a lighter, easy to wear, easy to operate, low-cost technology for stroke rehabilitation would be a welcome opportunity for stroke survivors, caregivers and clinicians. One such device is the Kickstart Walk Assist system and the purpose of this study was to determine feasibility of using this unpowered exoskeleton device in a sample of stroke survivors. Methods: Thirty stroke survivors were enrolled in the study and experienced walking with the Kickstart exoskeleton device that provided spring-loaded assistance during gait. After 5 days of wearing the exoskeleton, participants were evaluated in the two states of wearing and not wearing the exoskeleton. Outcome measures included: (a) spatio-temporal gait measures, (b) balance measures and (c) exoskeleton-use feedback questionnaire. Results: In comparison to not wearing the device, when participants wore the Kickstart walking system, weight bearing asymmetry was reduced. The time spent on the 10-m walk test was also reduced, but there was no difference in the timed-up-and-go test (TUGT). Gait analysis data showed reduction in step time and double support time. Stroke survivors were positive about the Kickstart walking system’s ability to improve their balance, speed and gait. In addition, their confidence level and willingness to use the device was also positive. Conclusions: These findings show the feasibility of using the Kickstart walking system for improving walking performance in stroke survivors. Our future goal is to perform a longer duration study with more comprehensive pre- and post-testing in a larger sample of stroke survivors. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000032665. Registered 5 May 2020—Retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=53288
KW - Exoskeleton
KW - Exotendon
KW - Gait
KW - Rehabilitation
KW - Robotics
KW - Walking
KW - Wearable
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101578991&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101578991&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12984-020-00795-y
DO - 10.1186/s12984-020-00795-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 33627142
AN - SCOPUS:85101578991
VL - 18
JO - Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
JF - Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
SN - 1743-0003
IS - 1
M1 - 42
ER -