Jodhpur: Designed by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur Robotic Trainers which can be used in physiotherapy to treat lower extremity disability.
The research team was led by an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. IIT Jodhpur Dr. Jayant Kumar Mohanta.
Limb disability is a serious ailment among Indians, and is caused by age-related diseases, physical disorders, accidents, strokes, polio, etc. According to Census 2011, there are 5 million people with locomotor disability in India.
According to IIT Jodhpur “Lower Organ rehabilitation, especially gait recovery is time-consuming and sometimes involves multiple physiotherapists. Recently, there has been interest in designing robotic devices for lower extremity rehabilitation. In robotic rehabilitation, the therapist only needs to supervise and set up the device. The insights gained from this research work are shared in a paper International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems“
The institute further stated that most existing robotic systems only treat patients by moving in the sagittal plane – the imaginary plane that divides the body into left and right halves. For complete limb movement, sagittal movement is not sufficient and movement in the transverse (upper and lower body) and coronal (front and back) planes is also required.
Researchers at IIT Jodhpur have proposed a robot manipulator system capable of moving the ankle in three planes which are the sagittal, transverse and coronal planes.
“Full rehabilitation is possible if the right sequence of therapy is implemented. The robots will be able to do it without tiring,” explained Dr Mohanta.
The robotic trainer was a brace or wearable device similar to an exoskeleton that supported the legs. It was provided with a Cartesian (3-directional) parallel manipulator to perform the required limb therapeutic motions in the transverse/horizontal/lateral and sagittal/longitudinal planes. The design ensured a large work area to implement the necessary range of motion therapy, he said.
The utility of a static trainer designed using a computer-based simulation along with a motion control scheme was confirmed through various clinically indicated therapeutic passive motion ranges. This design can drive important rehabilitative therapeutic movements such as abduction (movement of the limb or appendage away from the midline of the body), adduction (movement of the limb or appendage towards the midline of the body), flexion (movement of the knee), and extension of the hip and knee joints.
“The robotic trainer we designed will help provide physiotherapy to paralyzed patients and those who have spinal cord injuries that have disrupted their lower limb functions,” said the research lead.
The trainer proposed by the IIT Jodhpur team is conceptually simple and has a modular mechanical configuration that is easy to modify and use. Additionally, since only linear actuators are used for hip and knee motion, the robot itself is stable, safe and robust during use.
Robotics is an interdisciplinary field that cuts across the domains of software, control, mechanics, sensing, and electronics. To meet this growing demand for engineers with diverse backgrounds in the field of robotics and mobility systems and to support related research and development, the MTech program in Robotics and Mobility Systems has been designed by IIT Jodhpur.
The proposed MTech program will provide interdisciplinary learning opportunities to participate in the most challenging advanced technology fields. It is also envisaged that the program will serve as a platform to test innovative ideas in the design, development and testing of robotics and mobility systems, IIT Jodhpur said.
