Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

M.Tech. (Chiropractic) / This study aimed to compare the immediate effects of a cervical spine adjustment on gait in participants who had asymptomatic cervical spine dysfunction. Method: This study consisted of 1 group of 60 participants between the ages of 18 and 50 years of age. The group was mixed unevenly in terms of gender. The potential participants were examined and accepted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Each participant underwent a pre adjustment gait analysis followed by cervical spine adjustment and then a post adjustment gait analysis. Procedure: Treatment consisted of a single treatment. The objective data was recorded via the Win FDM system pre and post cervical spine adjustment. The measurements were taken this way to give a reliable, dynamic analysis of gait in an easy to read print out. Analysis of collected data was performed by a statistician. The manipulative techniques used were directed towards dysfunction cervical spine joints which were identified via motion palpation. Results: The results of the gait analysis were obtained from the WinFDM analysis and analyzed by STATKON. Objective data was collected from 60 participants of both genders. All participants underwent a pre and post adjustment gait analysis for comparison...

Stair climbing is a common activity encountered in daily living. Stair ascent is a demanding task that requires a large range of motion of the joints, strong muscle strength, good cardiovascular fitness, and fine balance control. Given this, the activity can be difficult for different populations that lack muscle strength and coordination. To train and assist people in this activity, several robotic platforms have been proposed, but these limit the natural motion of the individual. For example, these devices fix the placement of the feet and reduce the natural swing of the lower limbs. This makes it difficult to manipulate the center of mass, which is crucial to stair ascent. In this dissertation, we present a novel parallel cable-driven platform in which the end effector is the user’s pelvis; the stairmill tethered pelvic assist device. This architecture allows the user to retain their natural movement and relation between the feet and the center of mass, all while applying three dimensional forces on the pelvis during continuous stair ascent on a revolving stairmill. In this work, we show the design, fabrication, and validation of this robotic system. Various force strategies were explored during stairmill ascent using this robotic platform. A characterization experiment was conducted to investigate gait performance and muscle coordination. Two simple interventions were tested to show the potential for long-term training program. This work sheds light on the different strategies of stair climbing and how we can use cable driven platforms to train and assist individuals during this challenging task. The knowledge gained by this work allows for the expansion of designing training paradigms for stair climbing with natural motion. These can assist individuals in improving their quality of life.

No description available.

MScEng / Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Clinical gait analysis has been proven to greatly improve treatment planning and monitoring of patients suffering from neuromuscular disorders. Despite this fact, it was found that gait analysis is still largely underutilised in general patient-care due to limitations of gait measurement equipment. Inertial motion capture (IMC) is able to overcome many of these limitations, but this technology is relatively untested and is therefore viewed as adolescent. This study addresses this problem by evaluating the validity and repeatability of gait parameters measured with a commercially available, full-body IMC system by comparing the results to those obtained with alternative methods of motion capture. The IMC system’s results were compared to a trusted optical motion capture (OMC) system’s results to evaluate validity. The results show that the measurements for the hip and knee obtained with IMC compares well with those obtained using OMC – with coefficient-of-correlation (R) values as high as 0.99. Some discrepancies were identified in the ankle-joint validity results. These were attributed to differences between the two systems with regard to the definition of ankle joint and to non-ideal IMC system foot-sensor design. The repeatability, using the IMC system, was quantified using the coefficient of variance (CV), the coefficient of multiple determination (CMD) and the coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC). Results show that IMC-recorded gait patterns have high repeatability for within-day tests (CMD: 0.786-0.984; CMC: 0.881-0.992) and between-day tests (CMD: 0.771-0.991; CMC: 0.872-0.995). These results compare well with those from similar studies done using OMC and electromagnetic motion capture (EMC), especially when comparing between-day results. Finally, to evaluate the measurements from the IMC system in a clinically useful application, a neural network was employed to distinguish between gait strides of stroke patients and those of able-bodied controls. The network proved to be very successful with a repeatable accuracy of 99.4% (1/166 misclassified). The study concluded that the full-body IMC system produces sufficiently valid and repeatable gait data to be used in clinical gait analysis, but that further refinement of the ankle-joint definition and improvements to the foot sensor are required.

The goals of this thesis were: (1) to develop a data acquisition system for measuring gait parameters and (2) to determine the effect of knee pads on gait and comfort. The data acquisition system consisted of a data acquisition card that was inserted in the PC card (PCMCIA) slot of a laptop computer, a knee goniometer, foot switches, and pressure sensors. Various drive circuits were designed to connect the different sensors to the data acquisition card. The gait analysis results showed that the knee pads do not have a significant effect on long range gait correlations calculated from the stride interval. Pressure measurements between the knee pads and the knee showed that a pressure in the range of 0 to 8.31 psi occurred when kneeling. The maximum pressure for the sensor located under the top strap of the knee pad occurred when getting into and out of the kneeling stance. The data acquisition system successfully met the design objectives. The stride interval was recorded and analyzed, and pressures were successfully measured and analyzed.

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING / Bibliography: leaf 88. / by Cheryl A. Gira. / B.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING / Includes bibliographical references. / by Kevin Paul Tyra. / M.S.

Unilateral deficits resulting from stroke manifest as reduced velocity, decreased cadence and asymmetries in temporal, spatial and force parameters during ambulation. Gait asymmetries and compensatory strategies employed during gait result in a higher mechanical energy cost that limits activity and community participation. Despite conventional rehabilitation efforts, individuals often remain with chronic gait deficits after stroke. Robotic-based therapies have been developed as an alternative to conventional rehabilitation. These therapies offer the means to provide task-specific training at an intensity greater than that of conventional approaches; however, to date outcomes have been similar to that of conventional training. One factor potentially contributing to the limited efficacy of robotic training is the active-assist control strategy that is often employed. This type of training strategy reduces the users’ engagement in the learning process and limits skilled learning. The tethered pelvic assist device (TPAD) is a robotic device that employs actuated tethers at the pelvis to guide the user along a pre-set movement trajectory. While other robotic devices restrict movement to a fixed trajectory, the TPAD promotes shifting weight onto the paretic limb, but permits users to freely move the limb to navigate spatiotemporal aspects of training independently. This allows individuals to participate in the problem-solving process required for motor learning to occur, facilitating a more active role in the motor task itself, and thus promoting learning. Earlier work utilized the TPAD to reduce gait asymmetry in a population of individuals in the chronic phase after stroke in a single training session (Bishop et al., 2015; Vashista, 2015). Results demonstrated an increase in propulsive forces of the affected limb as a result of the intervention, but these gains did not transfer to overground gait. A follow up study explored the feasibility and efficacy of two different training strategies using the TPAD (Bishop et al., 2017). Both training strategies proved feasible and similarly efficacious. The current work examines the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a five-day intervention using the TPAD with faded visual feedback and a short bout of task-specific overground training to reduce gait asymmetry in a population of individuals at least six months after stroke. Participants underwent a series of three Pre Test assessments within a one-week interval prior to initiating the intervention. Training occurred over five consecutive days, with a Post Test assessment administered on conclusion of Day 5 of training. A one-week Follow Up assessment was also recorded. Results demonstrated this intervention coupling TPAD training with additional tenets of motor learning including visual feedback and salient task-specific overground training was feasible in terms of safety, tolerance and adherence. Further, while participant’s load asymmetry was not significantly reduced on the treadmill from Baseline to Post Training (p >0.05), there was a significant improvement in stance symmetry during overground gait (F = 8.498, p = 0.002). These results suggest that the integration of motor learning tenets with robotic TPAD training was useful in facilitating gains to overground walking. Implications to the broader scope of robotic training suggest that creating an environment in which the user plays a more active role is useful at maximizing effects of robotic training. Future work should include comparison groups (TPAD treadmill training, overground training, and combined TPAD and overground training) with a more robust sample size for a longer duration of training to parse out contributing factors to overground gains. Future work should also consider a longer training and follow up interval in an effort to determine whether individuals are able to maintain improvements longer than the immediate post training period.

Two experiments were undertaken. The objective of Experiment One was to identify the lower limb muscles that were most frequently active during the early period of a step turning task for further testing in Experiment Two. In Experiment Two participants undertook multiple trials of a step-turning task, 30 and 60° to the left and right of midline, at a self-selected pace in response to a visual cue. There were five objectives to Experiment Two. Firstly, to identify the predominant order in the onset of foot movement so that anticipatory muscle activity could be defined for this task. Secondly, to identify whether there is a consistent temporal order in movement onset between the head and the feet. Thirdly, to identify whether and how consistently anticipatory lower limb muscle activity is present bilaterally. Fourthly, to assess whether there is a consistent sequence in the onset of anticipatory muscle activity among muscles active in at least 80% of trials. The final objective was to identity whether there was a consistent temporal relationship in the onset of the anticipatory muscle activity present in at least 80% of trials, with the onset of head and foot movement. Study Design: A repeated measures design was used. Background: Anticipatory lower limb muscle activity in gait initiation and forward stepping studies has been reported to be consistently present, and associated with initial and important balance responses. Falls during turning are associated with a high incidence of hip fractures in the elderly population. The presence of anticipatory lower limb muscle activity turning has not been previously reported. Participants: There were five participants in Experiment One, and ten in Experiment Two. All were between 18 and 40 years of age and did not have neurological or musculoskeletal disorders, or severe visual loss. Results: In Experiment One, four muscles were consistently active bilaterally, during the early period of step-turning and were: tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, biceps femoris and gluteus medius. In Experiment Two the ipsilateral foot moved before the contralateral foot in 68% of trials towards the left, and 79% of trials towards the right. The onset of head movement consistently occurred before the onset of foot movement during turns towards both directions. The percentage of trials in which the four muscles were active in an anticipatory manner was low bilaterally, ranging from 12 to 38% of trials. Objectives that involved the further analysis of muscles active in at least 80% of trials were unable to be completed. Conclusions: During a step-turning task young healthy adults predominantly move their ipsilateral foot before their contralateral foot. The consistent onset of head movement prior to that of the feet, indirectly suggests that the visual system might influence the temporal onset of the feet. The low levels of anticipatory muscle activity during step-turning suggest that the lower limbs are not involved with the initial balance responses for this task thus making it inherently different to gait initiation and forward stepping.