Development of single leg version of HAL for hemiplegia

Our goal is to try to enhance the QoL of persons with hemiplegia by the mean of an active motion support system based on the HAL's technology. The HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) in its standard version is an exoskeleton-based robot suit to support and enhance the human motor functions. The purpose of the research presented in this paper is the development of a new version of the HAL to be used as an assistive device providing walking motion support to persons with hemiplegia. It includes the realization of the single leg version of the HAL and the redesign of the original HAL's Autonomous Controller to execute human-like walking motions in an autonomous way. Clinical trials were conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of the developed system. The first stage of the trials described in this paper involved the participation of one hemiplegic patient who has difficulties to flex his right knee. As a result, the knee flexion support for walking provided by the HAL appeared to improve the subject's walking (longer stride and faster steps). The first evaluation of the system with one subject showed promising results for the future developments.