KR101703634B1 - Gait training apparatus for hemiplegic patients - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ambulatory training apparatus for patients who have impaired ambulatory functions. The present invention includes: a main body portion (10) made up of an upper part (11) worn on the knee and a lower part (12) worn on the foot; an input unit (20) mounted on the main body portion (10) and performing signal input with respect to an ambulatory state; a driving means having a first actuator (31) connected to induce dorsal flexion of an ankle joint between the upper part (11) and the lower part (12); and a control unit (40) changing output applied to the driving means in response to the signal of the input unit (20). According to the present invention, the dorsal flexion of the ankle joint can be reliably induced from the spastic hemiplegic patients, inconvenience associated with ankle dragging during walking can be addressed, and the flexibility of walking can be improved.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a gait training apparatus for hemiplegic patients,

The present invention relates to a gait training apparatus, and more particularly, to a gait training apparatus for a hemiplegic patient for improving a walking ability by a rehabilitation treatment of a patient having a gait disorder.

In recent years, interest in rehabilitation medical devices for restoring lost or deteriorated musculoskeletal functions of persons with disabilities, elderly people, etc. is increasing. This is a silver / rehabilitation engineering that combines medicine and tactile engineering to promote the development of new disciplines, as well as to advance industrial technology and improve the level of welfare. In particular, gait training devices are recognized as one of the rehabilitation devices that play an important role in improving the quality of life.

Korean Patent Registration No. 924843 (Prior Art 1) and Korean Patent Registration No. 1430867 (Prior Art 2) are known as prior art documents which can be referred to in connection with a gait training apparatus.

The prior art document 1 includes a sensor unit for detecting a contact state of the foot and a bending angle of the ankle; A control unit for detecting a walking cycle from a signal received from the sensor unit and generating a motor control signal; And a motor driven by the control signal of the control unit. Therefore, it is expected that it will induce walking near to the normal and induce foot and foot drag by guiding the ankle joints which are actively similar to normal walking.

The prior art 2 includes an exoskeleton orthosis for performing a knee protection auxiliary device, an ankle fixing strap fixed to the foot of the patient, a pair of gait detecting sensors installed at front and back of the ankle fixing strap for detecting a gait pattern of the patient, And a pneumatic actuator which is connected to the knee joint of the exoskeleton orthosis and is operated at one end. Therefore, we expect the effect of improving the inconvenience of walking with ankle to walk patient.

However, the orthosis of the preceding document 1 is inconvenient to wear due to its heavy weight, and the driving force of the motor causes the muscle musculoskeletal system to be inevitable. The orthosis of the preceding document 2 is not related to ankle motion, Big.

1. Korean Patent Registration No. 0924843 entitled " Active Ankle Support Orthosis for the prevention of foot drop and foot pull of paralyzed patients "(Published on August 18, 2008). 2. Korean Patent Registration No. 1430867 entitled "Pneumatic gait training device for aiding the walking of a patient with hemiplegia" (published on Aug. 18, 2014).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned problems of the related art by providing a gait training device .

In order to attain the above object, the present invention provides a gait training apparatus for a patient having a weak gait function, comprising: a main body part composed of a top part to be worn on the knee and a bottom part to be worn on the foot; An input unit mounted on the main body for inputting a signal regarding a walking state; Driving means having a first actuator connected between the upper and lower legs to induce a dorsiflexion of the ankle joint; And a control unit for varying an output signal applied to the driving unit in response to the signal of the input unit.

In a detailed configuration of the present invention, the input unit is provided with a pressure sensor provided in the main body to generate a signal corresponding to the patient's foot pressure, and an attitude sensor provided in the main body to generate a signal corresponding to the attitude of the patient .

As a detailed configuration of the present invention, the first actuator of the driving means is characterized by using a pneumatic actuator or an actuator having a damper.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the driving means further comprises a second actuator for bringing the functional electrical stimulator (FES) adjacent to the patient's peroneal nerve to cause the ankle to lift.

In the detailed construction of the present invention, the control unit may include a controller that includes an algorithm for generating an output corresponding to a walking pattern of the patient, a driver that converts the output of the controller into a power source for operating the driving unit, And an alarm for generating an alarm when the set condition is reached.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the flexibility of walking by improving the inconvenience that the ankle is pulled when the user is walking while inducing a reliable dorsiflexion of the ankle joint in a patient with hemiplegic who has rigidity.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a walking training apparatus according to the present invention in a wear state
2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a gait training apparatus according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the operating state of the device according to the invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention proposes a gait training device for a patient with a weak gait function. But it is not necessarily limited to patients who need assistance with gait function due to hemiplegia. The slow gait cycle and speed of hemiplegic patients are due to the short stance phase and the relatively long stance phase of the affected side. The gait training apparatus of the present invention relieves and improves such deviation between the affected side and the observed side.

According to the present invention, the main body portion 10 is composed of a top bag 11 worn on the knee and a bottom bag 12 worn on the foot. It is preferable that the main body part 10 and the lower side part 12 are separately formed so as to reduce the weight burden of the hemiplegic patient. The upper bag 11 is formed in the same structure as the knee protector, and the lower bag 12 is formed in the same structure as the shoes (sandals). The upper and lower legs 11 and 12 are provided with a band 14 of a Velcro tape type so as to be easily fitted to a patient's body.

2 illustrates a state in which the battery 16 is mounted on the main body 10, but may further include a battery (not shown) to be worn on the waistband separately. The battery 16 selects the rechargeable type by providing the power of the main operation portion, which will be described later. In some cases, a flexible manner of bending or folding may be employed to improve the comfort.

According to the present invention, the input unit 20 is mounted on the main body 10 to input a signal regarding the walking state. The input unit 20 senses the walking pattern of the patient and provides data to the controller 40 to perform an algorithm set by the controller 40. [ The gait pattern includes the signals of the stance and the diaphragm related to the attraction of the legs (ankles).

The input unit 20 includes a pressure sensor 21 and a pressure sensor 21 installed in the main body 10 to generate a signal corresponding to the patient's foot pressure, And an attitude sensor (24) for generating a signal corresponding to the attitude. The front pressure sensor 21 is installed at the forefoot portion of the sole at the lower portion 12 and the rear pressure sensor 22 is installed at the heel portion of the sole. Of course, a separate pressure sensor may be additionally provided between the front pressure sensor 21 and the rear pressure sensor 22. The posture sensor 24 is installed on at least one of the upper and lower legs 11 and 12 to sense a patient's walking on a slope or a severe body movement.

In addition, the input unit 20 further includes a voltage sensor 26 for detecting the usable time and low voltage state of the battery 16. [

According to the present invention, the driving means is a structure having a first actuator 31 connected between the upper and lower legs 11 and 12 so as to induce the backward flexion of the ankle joint. The driving means generates a force (pulling force) proportional to the magnitude of the electrical signal applied to the first actuator 31. [ The first actuator 31 is fixed to the lower end of the upper leg 11 to the upper side and is fixed to the upper side of the forefoot of the lower leg 12 to the lower side.

On the other hand, a tightening body 36 for adjusting the entire length is preferably mounted on the upper side of the first actuator 31. The tightening body 36 is formed in a structure such as a small turnbuckle to enable adjustment of the initial tension applied to the first actuator 31. [

As a detailed configuration of the present invention, the first actuator (31) of the driving means uses an actuator having a pneumatic actuator or a damper. The pneumatic actuator reduces the inconvenience and risk of overloading action compared to general actuator by adopting a compact structure that excludes the connection of pneumatic generator or external pipeline. When a general actuator is used, the function of the pneumatic actuator is maintained by adding a viscoelastic fluid damper having an orifice.

As a modification of the present invention, the first actuator 31 may additionally use a polymer actuator formed of an electroactive polymer composite material. In this case, the function of the pneumatic actuator is complemented, and a thinner and thinner configuration is made possible.

In a detailed configuration of the present invention, the driving means further comprises a second actuator (32) which brings a functional electric stimulator (FES) adjacent to the patient's peroneal nerve to induce an ankle lifting. As a result of the clinical trial on the conventional gait training device, it showed the effect of inducing the dorsiflexion of the ankle joint in the elderly patient, but it causes resistance to the hemiplegic patient accompanied by rigidity, resulting in inconvenience such as leg drag. The second actuator 32, which generates functional electrical stimulation, contracts the non-osseous muscles and tibialis ankles to more reliably lift the ankle joints, thus inducing accurate walking and training. 1 shows a state in which the second actuator 32 is brought into close contact with the peroneal nerve using a binding band 34 such as the band 14 but is attached to the binding cradle 34 in order to prevent the flow- May be worn on the waist. Of course, depending on whether the peripheral nerve responding to the electric stimulation is damaged, the position of the second actuator 32 can be changed differently.

According to the present invention, the control unit (40) varies the output applied to the driving means in response to the signal of the input unit (20). The control unit 40 inputs and outputs an electrical signal so as to reduce the deviation between the target side and the target side according to the gait pattern of the patient. In FIG. 2, the control unit 40 is illustrated as being mounted on the upper unit 11, but may be integrally or dispersively mounted on the waistband or other parts.

The control unit 40 includes a controller 42 that includes an algorithm for generating an output corresponding to a patient's walking pattern, a controller 42 that converts the output of the controller 42 into a power source for operating the driving unit And an alarm (46) for generating an alarm when a set condition is reached while outputting an operating state. The controller 42 comprises a microprocessor, a memory, and a microcomputer circuit including an input / output interface. The driver 44 converts the power of the battery 16 into a power source required for the operation of the first actuator 31 and the second actuator 32. The alarm (46) visually displays the main operation state of the controller (42) to the patient himself or a neighboring passerby.

As an example of the operation, when the patient is walking with the upper, lower and tie rods 12 and 34 being worn, the controller 42 outputs the signals of the pressure sensors 21 and 22 The first actuator 31 and the second actuator 32 are repeatedly operated by detecting the walking pattern. 3 (a) is a state in which the stance is started, just before the first actuator 31 applies the pulling force and the second actuator 32 applies the electric stimulus. Fig. 3 (b) shows the state in which the stance phase is terminated, and the pulling force of the first actuator 31 is maximized while the electrical stimulation of the second actuator 32 is inactive.

If the controller 42 senses an uphill or downhill walk with the signal of the attitude sensor 24, the controller 20 corrects the output applied to the first actuator 31 and the second actuator 32 to maintain a comfortable walking pattern. The controller 42 may accumulate control data for a particular patient to perform a customized algorithm.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It is therefore intended that such variations and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

10: main body part 11:
12: Lower unit 16: Battery
20: input unit 21: front pressure sensor
22: rear pressure sensor 24: attitude sensor
26: voltage sensor 31: first actuator
32: second actuator 34:
36: tightening body 40:
42: controller 44:
46: Alarm

Claims (5)

A gait training apparatus for a patient having a weak gait function comprising:
A main body 10 composed of a top bag 11 to be worn on the knee and a bottom bag 12 to be worn on the foot;
An input unit 20 mounted on the main body 10 for inputting a signal about a walking state;
A driving means having a first actuator (31) connected between the upper and lower legs (11, 12) to induce a dorsiflexion of the ankle joint; And
And a control unit (40) for varying an output applied to the driving means in response to the signal of the input unit (20)
The input unit 20 includes pressure sensors 21 and 22 installed in the main body 10 and generating signals corresponding to the patient's foot pressure, And an attitude sensor (24)
The first actuator (31) of the drive means additionally uses a polymer actuator,
The drive means further comprises a second actuator (32) adjacent the patient's peroneal nerve to cause a functional electrical stimulator (FES) to induce the ankle lifting,
The control unit 40 includes a controller 42 having an algorithm for generating an output corresponding to a walking pattern of the patient, a driver 44 for converting the output of the controller 42 into a power source for operating the driving means, And an alarm (46) for generating an alarm when a set condition is reached while outputting an operating state. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first actuator (31) of the driving means uses an actuator having a pneumatic actuator or a damper. delete delete

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