Effects of ankle exoskeleton assistance during human walking on lower limb muscle contractions and coordination patterns_Journal of Biomedical Engineering

Authors：

WANG Wei ^1,2 , DING Jianquan ^1,2 , WANG Yi ^1,2 , LIU Yicheng ^1,2 ,  ZHANG Juanjuan ^1,2 , LIU Jingtai ^1,2

1. Institute of Robotics and Automatic Information System, College of Artificial Intelligence, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, P. R. China;
2. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics, Tianjin 300350, P. R. China;

Corresponding author：

ZHANG Juanjuan, Email: juanjuanzhang@nankai.edu.cn

Keywords：

Wearable device; Ankle exoskeleton; Locomotion assistance; Surface electromyography; Muscle coordination patterns

DOI：

10.7507/1001-5515.202107040

Video：

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Lower limb ankle exoskeletons have been used to improve walking efficiency and assist the elderly and patients with motor dysfunction in daily activities or rehabilitation training, while the assistance patterns may influence the wearer’s lower limb muscle activities and coordination patterns. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the effects of different ankle exoskeleton assistance patterns on wearer’s lower limb muscle activities and coordination patterns. A tethered ankle exoskeleton with nine assistance patterns that combined with differenet actuation timing values and torque magnitude levels was used to assist human walking. Lower limb muscle surface electromyography signals were collected from 7 participants walking on a treadmill at a speed of 1.25 m/s. Results showed that the soleus muscle activities were significantly reduced during assisted walking. In one assistance pattern with peak time in 49% of stride and peak torque at 0.7 N·m/kg, the soleus muscle activity was decreased by (38.5 ± 10.8)%. Compared with actuation timing, the assistance torque magnitude had a more significant influence on soleus muscle activity. In all assistance patterns, the eight lower limb muscle activities could be decomposed to five basic muscle synergies. The muscle synergies changed little under assistance with appropriate actuation timing and torque magnitude. Besides, co-contraction indexs of soleus and tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and semitendinosus under exoskeleton assistance were higher than normal walking. Our results are expected to help to understand how healthy wearers adjust their neuromuscular control mechanisms to adapt to different exoskeleton assistance patterns, and provide reference to select appropriate assistance to improve walking efficiency.

Citation： WANG Wei, DING Jianquan, WANG Yi, LIU Yicheng, ZHANG Juanjuan, LIU Jingtai. Effects of ankle exoskeleton assistance during human walking on lower limb muscle contractions and coordination patterns. Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 2022, 39(1): 75-83. doi: 10.7507/1001-5515.202107040 Copy

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13.	Gomez-Vargas D, Ballen-Moreno F, Barria P, et al. The actuation system of the ankle exoskeleton T-FLEX: first use experimental validation in people with stroke. Brain Sci, 2021, 11(4): 412.
14.	Orekhov G, Fang Y, Luque J, et al. Ankle exoskeleton assistance can improve over-ground walking economy in individuals with cerebral palsy. IEEE Trans Neur Sys Reh, 2020, 28(99): 461-467.
15.	Takahashi K Z, Lewek M D, Sawicki G S. A neuromechanics-based powered ankle exoskeleton to assist walking post-stroke: a feasibility study. J NeuroEngineering Rehabil, 2015, 12(23): 1-13.
16.	Li Zhan, Liu Huxian, Yin Ziguang, et al. Muscle synergy alteration of human during walking with lower limb exoskeleton. Front Neurosci, 2019, 12: 1050.
17.	李怀仙. 助力外骨骼人机交互关键技术研究. 成都: 西南交通大学, 2013.
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19.	Witte K A, Fiers P, Sheets-Singer A L, et al. Improving the energy economy of human running with powered and unpowered ankle exoskeleton assistance. Sci Robot, 2020, 5(40): 9108.
20.	Whittle M W. An Introduction to gait analysis. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.
21.	Hermens H J, Freriks B, Disselhorst-Klug C, et al. Development of recommendations for SEMG sensors and sensor placement procedures. J Electromyogr Kines, 2000, 10(5): 361-374.
22.	Wang Yuxiong, Zhang Yujin. Nonnegative matrix factorization: a comprehensive review. IEEE Trans Knowl Data En, 2013, 25(6): 1336-1353.
23.	Souissi H, Zory R, Bredin J, et al. Comparison of methodologies to assess muscle co-contraction during gait. J Biomech, 2017: 141-145.
24.	Lai A, Lichtwark G A, Schache A G, et al. In vivo behavior of the human soleus muscle with increasing walking and running speeds. J Appl Physiol, 2015, 118(10): 1266-1275.
25.	Jackson R W, Collins S H. An experimental comparison of the relative benefits of work and torque assistance in ankle exoskeletons. J Appl Physiol, 2015, 119(5): 541-557.

1. Safavynia S A, Torres-Oviedo G, Ting L H. Muscle synergies: implications for clinical evaluation and rehabilitation of movement. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil, 2011, 17(1): 16-24.
2. 杨毅, 彭玉鑫, 郝增明, 等. 复杂人体运动冗余控制的肌肉协同理论研究进展与展望. 体育科学, 2020, 40(12): 63-72.
3. 王乐军, 徐仰才, 马国强, 等. 30秒全力蹬踏自行车运动中下肢肌肉协同活动特征研究. 中国运动医学杂志, 2020, 39(1): 3-11.
4. Ivanenko Y P, Poppele R E, Lacquaniti F. Five basic muscle activation patterns account for muscle activity during human locomotion. J Physiol, 2004, 556(1): 267-282.
5. Cappellini G, Ivanenko Y P, Poppele R E, et al. Motor patterns in human walking and running. J Neurophysiol, 2006, 95: 3426-3437.
6. Liu Jinbiao, Wang Jixian, Tan Gansheng, et al. Correlation evaluation of functional corticomuscular coupling with abnormal muscle synergy after stroke. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 2021, 68(11): 3261-3272.
7. Yang N, An Q, Yamakawa H, et al. Clarification of muscle synergy structure during standing-up motion of healthy young, elderly and post-stroke patients// 2017 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR). London: IEEE, 2017: 19-24.
8. Cheung V C K, Cheung B M F, Zhang J H, et al. Plasticity of muscle synergies through fractionation and merging during development and training of human runners. Nat Commun, 2020, 11: 4356.
9. Tan C K, Kadone H, Watanabe H, et al. Differences in muscle synergy symmetry between subacute post-stroke patients with bioelectrically-controlled exoskeleton gait training and conventional gait training. Front Bioeng Biotechnol, 2020, 8: 770.
10. Sawicki G S, Beck O N, Kang I, et al. The exoskeleton expansion: improving walking and running economy. J NeuroEngineering Rehabil, 2020, 17: 25.
11. 赵新刚, 谈晓伟, 张弼. 柔性下肢外骨骼机器人研究进展及关键技术分析. 机器人, 2020, 42(3): 111-130.
12. Collins S H, Wiggin M B, Sawicki G S. Reducing the energy cost of human walking using an unpowered exoskeleton. Nature, 2015, 522: 212-215.
13. Gomez-Vargas D, Ballen-Moreno F, Barria P, et al. The actuation system of the ankle exoskeleton T-FLEX: first use experimental validation in people with stroke. Brain Sci, 2021, 11(4): 412.
14. Orekhov G, Fang Y, Luque J, et al. Ankle exoskeleton assistance can improve over-ground walking economy in individuals with cerebral palsy. IEEE Trans Neur Sys Reh, 2020, 28(99): 461-467.
15. Takahashi K Z, Lewek M D, Sawicki G S. A neuromechanics-based powered ankle exoskeleton to assist walking post-stroke: a feasibility study. J NeuroEngineering Rehabil, 2015, 12(23): 1-13.
16. Li Zhan, Liu Huxian, Yin Ziguang, et al. Muscle synergy alteration of human during walking with lower limb exoskeleton. Front Neurosci, 2019, 12: 1050.
17. 李怀仙. 助力外骨骼人机交互关键技术研究. 成都: 西南交通大学, 2013.
18. Zhang J, Fiers P, Witte K A, et al. Human-in-the-loop optimization of exoskeleton assistance during walking. Science, 2017, 356(6344): 1280-1283.
19. Witte K A, Fiers P, Sheets-Singer A L, et al. Improving the energy economy of human running with powered and unpowered ankle exoskeleton assistance. Sci Robot, 2020, 5(40): 9108.
20. Whittle M W. An Introduction to gait analysis. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.
21. Hermens H J, Freriks B, Disselhorst-Klug C, et al. Development of recommendations for SEMG sensors and sensor placement procedures. J Electromyogr Kines, 2000, 10(5): 361-374.
22. Wang Yuxiong, Zhang Yujin. Nonnegative matrix factorization: a comprehensive review. IEEE Trans Knowl Data En, 2013, 25(6): 1336-1353.
23. Souissi H, Zory R, Bredin J, et al. Comparison of methodologies to assess muscle co-contraction during gait. J Biomech, 2017: 141-145.
24. Lai A, Lichtwark G A, Schache A G, et al. In vivo behavior of the human soleus muscle with increasing walking and running speeds. J Appl Physiol, 2015, 118(10): 1266-1275.
25. Jackson R W, Collins S H. An experimental comparison of the relative benefits of work and torque assistance in ankle exoskeletons. J Appl Physiol, 2015, 119(5): 541-557.

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Effects of ankle exoskeleton assistance during human walking on lower limb muscle contractions and coordination patterns

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