Modeling and Simulation of a Lower Extremity Powered Exoskeleton

Lower extremity powered exoskeletons (LEPEs) allow people with spinal cord injury (SCI) to stand and walk. However, the majority of LEPEs walk slowly and users can become fatigued from overuse of forearm crutches, suggesting LEPE design can be enhanced. Virtual prototyping is a cost-effective way of improving design; therefore, this research developed and validated two models that simulate walking with the Bionik Laboratories' ARKE exoskeleton attached to a human musculoskeletal model. The first model was driven by kinematic data from 30 able-bodied participants walking at realistic slow walking speeds (0.2-0.8 m/s) and accurately predicted ground reaction forces (GRF) for all speeds. The second model added upper limb crutches and was driven by 3-D-marker data from five SCI participants walking with ARKE. Vertical GRF had the strongest correlations (>0.90) and root-mean-square error (RMSE) and mediolateral center of pressure trajectory had the weakest (<0.35), for both models. Strong correlations and small RMSE between predicted and measured GRFs support the use of these models for optimizing LEPE joint mechanics and improving LEPE design.