Digital Design Workflow for Individualized 2-DOF Ankle Exoskeletons

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Robotics
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Gait rehabilitation is crucial for individuals with brain injuries or lower-leg trauma.
• Current robotic exoskeletons face limitations in clinical use due to high cost and poor personalization.
• There is a need for accessible and individually tailored exoskeletons to enhance rehabilitation outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an efficient design workflow for individualized 2-DOF ankle exoskeletons.
• To develop an affordable and personalized ankle exoskeleton using additive manufacturing.
• To reduce mechanical complexity and weight in ankle exoskeleton design.

Main Methods:

• Functional calibration to estimate anatomical joint orientations (talocrural and subtalar).
• Integration of joint orientations into the exoskeleton design.
• Utilizing additive manufacturing for custom fabrication based on user leg morphology.
• Designing for the ankle joint complex motion envelope without kinematic redundancy.

Main Results:

• An efficient workflow for individualized 2-DOF ankle exoskeletons was developed.
• Affordable additive manufacturing enabled personalized fit conforming to user morphology.
• The design approach minimizes mechanical complexity and maintains a lightweight profile.
• Preliminary tests with healthy individuals demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method.

Conclusions:

• The proposed design workflow offers a viable solution for creating personalized, affordable ankle exoskeletons.
• This approach has the potential to increase the clinical utility of robotic exoskeletons in gait rehabilitation.
• Further research and testing are warranted to validate the effectiveness of these individualized devices.