High-Dorsiflexion Assistive System for Passive Swing Phase Dorsiflexion Training and Preventing Compensatory Movements

Over the last few years, numerous robotic ankle-foot orthoses have been developed to help stroke patients optimize gait rehabilitation. In this paper, we present a study on the effects of assistance on dorsiflexion-restricted gait. Our high-dorsiflexion assistive system aims to provide full assistance to realize passive training of dorsiflexion during the swing phase and prevent compensatory movements. This system, which includes a McKibben-type artificial muscle and an air source, is lightweight and provides a high-dorsiflexion torque. The device could help boost overground gait rehabilitation in stroke patients. With this system, we conducted an experiment on five healthy participants whose dorsiflexion movements were restricted, and the extent of their compensatory movements differed. The results of the processed surface electromyography data differed significantly when dorsiflexion movement was assisted by our system. The spatial parameters also showed significantly improved compensatory movement inclination with sufficient assistance. These results indicate the potential of our system to assist in passive training of ankle dorsiflexion movements and to prevent incorrect gait in patients with low dorsiflexion abilities.