The past, present and future of control architectures in lower-limb cable-driven robots for gait rehabilitation.

The vast majority of included studies used healthy participants rather than patients with neurological conditions, so the results may not apply to clinical populations. Most trials were short-term and conducted on treadmills, failing to capture how patients walk in the real world or whether improvements last over time. There was no standardized way to measure success across studies, making it impossible to determine which control strategy is actually best. Many studies did not report whether patients retained their walking improvements after the device was removed.

The study was funded by Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research. The risk-of-bias assessment noted that in a small number of the included studies, potential conflicts of interest existed because authors were affiliated with device manufacturers.

Do not interpret the reported improvements in gait symmetry or metabolic cost as evidence that these robots cause lasting functional recovery. Most data comes from healthy people walking on treadmills for short periods, and the review explicitly states there is insufficient evidence to show these gains persist after the device is removed.