著者

田中 英一郎 池原 忠明 瀬戸口 隼 森 崇 三枝 省三 弓削 類

出版者

一般社団法人 日本機械学会

雑誌

機素潤滑設計部門講演会講演論文集

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2012, pp.43-46, 2012

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We developed a new whole body motion support type mobile suit. This suit can be used separately for supporting the upper and/or lower limbs, for assisting ADL (Activities of Daily Living). We also developed a mobile lifter system which can bear both the equipped person and the suit. This suit and the lifter can be used by motor palsy patients suffering from stroke, spinal-cord-injury, and central nerve disorders. Using this device, these patients can recover normal gait with no risk of falling. In this paper, the brain activity during walking using the suit and normal gait without the suit are compared. According to multiple trials with the suit, the activity of the premotor area decreased. In addition, by walking while swinging bilateral arms (even though these arms were assisted by the suit), the activity in the supplementary motor area increased (this area of the brain is related with memory of motion). Finally, the brain activity during walking on the treadmill and in the sightly long corridor are compared. From the result of this experiment, it is effective for gait training to walk with locomotion, because of the improvement the motivation for training. We can conclude that this suit is suitable to assist patients in walking. Therefore it is important for patients to swing their arms during gait training in rehabilitation.