Sharif Digital Repository

This research presents virtual prototyping and performance evaluation of a series elastic torque actuator developed for augmenting lower extremity exoskeletal systems employing biomechanical framework. For this purpose, experimental kinematical data of the lower extremity were collected for walking and backpack load carrying. Forward dynamics simulation of the movements under investigation is performed in a biomechanical framework consisting of a musculoskeletal model with ten degrees-of-freedom actuated by eighteen Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg to perform the muscle functional analysis. Muscle torque analysis results employed for optimal design and selection of components in the... 

Several lower extremity exoskeletal systems have been developed for augmentation purpose. Common actuators, have important drawbacks such as complexity, and poor torque capacities. The main scope of this research is to propose a series elastic actuator for lower extremity exoskeletal system which was designed based on muscle functional analysis. For this purpose, a biomechanical framework consisting of a musculoskeletal model with ten degrees-of-freedom actuated by eighteen Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg is utilized to perform the muscle functional analysis for common daily human activities. The simulation study illustrated functional differences between flexor and extensor... 

This paper focuses on the biomechanical aspects of human load carrying in order to provide a physiological framework for designing the more anthropometric assistive systems. An 8degrees-of-freedom musculoskeletal model with twenty functional muscle groups in the lower extremity was developed to simulate the movement in sagittal plane. Inverse dynamics based optimization approach was employed to estimate the excitation level of the muscles. Activation patterns of the muscles illustrate the importance role of the soleus in supporting of the body during load carrying. Also power distribution analysis of the muscles reveals that the plantar flexors of the ankle, extensors of the knee and hip... 

Increasing demand for wearable devices has resulted in the development of soft sensors; however, an excellent soft sensor for measuring stretch, twist, and pressure simultaneously has not been proposed yet. This paper presents a novel, fully 3D, microfluidic-oriented, gel-based, and highly stretchable resistive soft sensor. The proposed sensor is multi-functional and could be used to measure stretch, twist, and pressure, which is the potential of using a fully 3D structure in the sensor. Unlike previous methods, in which almost all of them used EGaIn as the conductive material, in this case, we used a low-cost, safe (biocompatible), and ubiquitous conductive gel instead. To show the... 

An inverse dynamics musculoskeletal model of the lower extremity was combined with an optimization technique to estimate individual muscular forces and powers during stair ascent and descent. Eighteen Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg were combined into the eleven functional muscle groups based on anatomical classification to drive the model in the sagittal plane. Simulation results illustrate the major functional differences in plantar flexors of the ankle and extensors of the knee and hip joints during ascent and descent. The results of this study not only could be employed to evaluate the rehabilitation results in the elderly but also could be used to design more anthropometric... 

Diurnal volume changes is one of the main factors influencing socket fit in trans-tibial prosthesis and causing pressure problem issues. Embedded bladder liners have been recently a potential approach to deal with this problem. The aim of this technical note was to introduce a new transtibial silicone liner designed based on hybrid socket theory. To make expandability in the liner, an integrated wax structure was constructed over the selected areas of the positive model and then removed after lamination process. In addition, a mechanical system with manual control was designed to fit the liner with the residual limb volume by pumping the water in or out of the liner through connec-tive... 

Kinematic mismatch between exoskeletons and human body results in excess internal forces/torques and hence discomfort as well as increase the power consumption. The connection stiffness has been shown to have potentials for minimizing the kinematic mismatch effects. However, realization of a desired stiffness in the connection element seems difficult if not impractical. In this work, adding controlled backlash to the exoskeleton-body connection is investigated as a possible solution for the kinematic mismatch challenge. A stiffness model which includes backlash parameters was formulated and identified experimentally using three male subjects on a typical lower extremity exoskeleton. A... 

An inverse dynamics musculoskeletal model of the lower extremity was combined with an optimization technique to estimate individual muscular forces and powers during stair ascent and descent. Eighteen Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg were combined into the eleven functional muscle groups based on anatomical classification to drive the model in the sagittal plane. Simulation results illustrate the major functional differences in plantar flexors of the ankle and extensors of the knee and hip joints during ascent and descent. The results of this study not only could be employed to evaluate the rehabilitation results in the elderly but also could be used to design more anthropometric... 

This paper focuses on the biomechanical aspects of the human lower extremity loading condition during backpack load carrying. A biomechanical framework was generated with the aim of employing a block-oriented structure of Simulink integrated with the Virtual Reality Toolbox of MATLAB software to provide a simulation study of the musculoskeletal system in a virtual environment. In this case, a ten-degrees-of-freedom musculoskeletal model actuated with sixteen muscles in each leg was utilized to simulate movement in the sagittal plane. An inverse dynamics based optimization approach was employed to estimate the excitation level of the muscles. In addition, distributions of the mechanical power... 

Knowledge about the non-linear dynamical pattern of postural sway may provide important insights into the adaptability (flexibility) of human postural control in response to everyday stresses imposed on the body. A commonly used non-linear tool, i.e. recurrence quantification analysis, was chosen to investigate the effect of prior anterior cruciate ligament injury on the deterministic pattern of postural sway under different conditions of postural and cognitive difficulty. In double leg stance, as postural difficulty increased from open-eyes to closed-eyes and rigid-surface to foam-surface, the centre of pressure regularity (%determinism) increased as well. In comparison to healthy... 

Inter-segmental coordination can be influenced by chronic low back pain (CLBP). The sagittal plane lower extremities inter-segmental coordination pattern and variability, in conjunction with the pelvis and trunk, were assessed in subjects with and without non-specific CLBP during free-speed walking. Kinematic data were collected from 10 non-specific CLBP and 10 non-CLBP control volunteers while the subjects were walking at their preferred speed. Sagittal plane time-normalized segmental angles and velocities were used to calculate continuous relative phase for each data point. Mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and deviation phase (DP) were derived to quantify the trunk-pelvis and bilateral... 

Background and aim: Most currently-available stance control knee ankle foot orthoses (SCKAFOs) still need full knee extension to lock the knee joint, and they are still noisy, bulky, and heavy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design, construct, and evaluate an original electromechanical SCKAFO knee joint that could feasibly solve these problems, and thus address the problems of current stance control knee joints with regards to their structure, function, cosmesis, and cost. Method: Ten able-bodied (AB) participants and two (knee ankle foot orthosis) KAFO users were recruited to participate in the study. A custom SCKAFO with the same set of components was constructed for each... 

A vector bond graph approach for dynamic modeling of human musculo-skeletal system is addressed in this article. In the proposed model, human body is modeled as a ten-segment, nine degree of freedom, mechanical linkage, actuated by ten muscles in sagittal plane. The head, arm and torso (HAT) are modeled as a single rigid body. Interaction of the feet with the ground is modeled using a spring-damper unit placed under the sole of each foot. The path of each muscle is represented by a straight line. Each actuator is modeled as a three-element, Hill-type muscle in series with tendon. The governing equations of motion generated by the proposed method are equivalent to those developed with more... 

Inverse dynamics analysis as well as the generation of an optimal goal oriented human motion both lead to the problem of finding suitable activations of the redundant muscles involved. This paper employs an iterative feedback tuning approach to perform the forward dynamics simulation of the human musculoskeletal system during level walking. A modified form of the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is proposed to stabilize the movement and provide tracking of problems of the desired lower extremity joint profiles. Controller parameters were determined iteratively using an optimization algorithm to minimize tracking errors during forward dynamics simulation. Static optimization... 

The objective of this study was to quantify individual muscle function differences between level walking and backpack load carriage at the same speed by using a muscle-actuated forward dynamics simulation. As experimental investigations have revealed that backpack loads of up to 64 per cent of an individual's body mass have little effect on the sagittal plane gait kinema-tics, further biomechanical analyses are necessary to investigate the contributions of individual muscle coordination strategies to achieve a given motor task by mechanical power generation, absorption, and transference to each body segment. A biomechanical framework consisting of a musculoskeletal model actuated by 18... 

The main scope of this study is to analyse muscle-driven forward dynamics simulation of stair locomotion to understand the functional differences of individual muscles during the movement. A static optimization was employed to minimize a performance criterion based on the muscle energy consumption to resolve muscle redundancy during forward dynamics simulation. The proposed method was employed to simulate a musculoskeletal system with ten degrees of freedom in the sagittal plane and containing 18 Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg. Simulation results illustrated that simulated joint kinematics closely tracked experimental quantities with root-mean-squared errors less than 1°. In...