Toward a Customizable Body Weight Support System with Interactive Treadmill for Patients with Diverse Gait...

Stroke patients face significant gait rehabilitation challenges, including high physical demands and fall risks. While body weight support (BWS) systems assist recovery, conventional designs remain limited by space, cost, and adaptability. To address these issues, we developed a customizable two-cable driven BWS treadmill system with a movable cable adjustment module for adaptive rehabilitation. Users can configure the harness as a pelvic or overhead support, enabling two training protocols: (1) Performance-Focused Gait Training (PFGT) to enhance gait efficiency and (2) Stability-Focused Gait Training (SFGT) to improve postural control. Clinical testing showed that PFGT increased walking speed by up to 34.7% and step length by 44.7%, while SFGT reduced trunk tilt by 7.3°, promoting gait symmetry and stability. These results highlight the system's capability to provide customized unloading support for individualized gait training, enhancing rehabilitation accessibility and effectiveness.