VehiCLE

Stroke Hybrid Exoskeleton Chest Mount and Cable Organization

The Stroke Hybrid Exoskeleton is a device that has been developed by the Cleveland VA's APT Center.  It combines muscle stimulation with an exoskeleton to enable participants who have hemiparalysis or impairment due to a stroke to walk under the power of their own muscles while being balanced and guided by the exoskeleton. VehiCLE was asked to assist in the mounting of the motor controller, stimulation unit, battery, and cables, as well as organizing and redesigning the cabling in the motor controller.

The solution is a tactical chest pack that was modified to be worn as a chest back or a back pack.  LED's on the front of the back indicate status, while the mounted switch controls power.  It has been equipped with bluetooth capabilities to communicate with researchers' laptops, and SD card and micro USB ports have been mounted to the outside of the pack, so that the pack does not need to be opened to remove the cards.  An auxiliary port is also mounted to the pack, which connects to the stimulation control unit that velcros to the front of the pack.  Finally, the stimulation cables have been bundled and run together until they branch at each stimulation site. 

This design was created in house and has been tested in adaptive exercise settings in Cleveland.

Exo Components Before        Exo Components After:
    

Motor Controller Before                        Motor Controller After
  

Chest Pack Front View                    
 



Next Steps:
The Stroke Hybrid Exoskeleton is being tested in Cleveland with participants.

Provisional Patent Application: 63/416,306

Technology Transfer Specialist: Emily Rosenthal (emily.rosenthal@va.gov)

TechLink:  Starting and stopping function for neuroprosthetic assistive walking device | TechLink (techlinkcenter.org)