The biomechanics and energetics of human running using an elastic knee exoskeleton

While the effects of series compliance on running biomechanics are well documented, the effects of parallel compliance are known only for the simpler case of hopping. As many practical exoskeletal and orthotic designs act in parallel with the leg, it is desirable to understand the effects of such an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elliott, Grant (Contributor), Sawicki, Gregory S. (Author), Marecki, Andrew (Contributor), Herr, Hugh M (Author)
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory (Contributor), Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (Contributor), Herr, Hugh M. (Contributor)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2014-12-10T20:52:03Z.
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Online Access:Get fulltext
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042 |a dc 
100 1 0 |a Elliott, Grant  |e author 
100 1 0 |a Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Program in Media Arts and Sciences   |q  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)   |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Herr, Hugh M.  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Elliott, Grant  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Marecki, Andrew  |e contributor 
700 1 0 |a Sawicki, Gregory S.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Marecki, Andrew  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Herr, Hugh M  |e author 
245 0 0 |a The biomechanics and energetics of human running using an elastic knee exoskeleton 
260 |b Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE),   |c 2014-12-10T20:52:03Z. 
856 |z Get fulltext  |u http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92265 
520 |a While the effects of series compliance on running biomechanics are well documented, the effects of parallel compliance are known only for the simpler case of hopping. As many practical exoskeletal and orthotic designs act in parallel with the leg, it is desirable to understand the effects of such an intervention. Spring-like forces offer a natural choice of perturbation for running, as they are both biologically motivated and energetically inexpensive to implement. To this end, we investigate the hypothesis that the addition of an external elastic element at the knee during the stance phase of running results in a reduction in knee extensor activation so that total joint quasi-stiffness is maintained. An exoskeletal knee brace consisting of an elastic element engaged by a clutch is used to provide this stance phase extensor torque. Motion capture of five subjects is used to investigate the consequences of running with this device. No significant change in leg stiffness or total knee stiffness is observed due to the activation of the clutched parallel knee spring. However, this pilot data suggests differing responses between casual runners and competitive long-distance runners, whose total knee torque is increased by the device. Such a relationship between past training and effective utilization of an external force is suggestive of limitations on the applicability of assistive devices. 
546 |a en_US 
655 7 |a Article 
773 |t 2013 IEEE 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)