Effect of timing of hip extension assistance during loaded walking with a soft exosuit.
Ye Ding, Fausto A Panizzolo, Christopher Siviy and 4 others
PMID 27716439WHAT IT FOUND
No hip assistance timing profile was significantly better for the energy cost of loaded walking in healthy men, but all powered profiles reduced energy cost compared with walking with the suit switched off.
Key findings
01No significant differences in metabolic cost were found among the powered timing profiles.
02Powered hip extension assistance reduced metabolic cost compared with the unpowered suit condition, with relative reductions of 5.7%, 8.5%, 6.3% and 7.1%.
03Early-start late-peak assistance delivered significantly higher positive mechanical power than the other powered profiles.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study tested only healthy male participants, not patients. Metabolic cost results were based on 6 of 8 participants because 2 had malfunctioning gas analysis equipment. The powered conditions were compared with an unpowered suit condition, not with walking without the suit, so any effect of wearing the suit itself was assessed separately and was not significant. The four timing profiles did not differ significantly in metabolic cost, so the study did not identify the best timing profile. Walking was on a treadmill at one fixed speed and load, not over ground or in real work settings.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this hip exosuit improves walking for patients. It was tested only in healthy men on a treadmill, and the four timing profiles did not differ significantly in metabolic cost.