Powered Hip Exoskeleton Assistance Study

January 13, 2022 updated by: Georgia Institute of Technology

Development of a Powered Exoskeleton Device for Lower Limb Assistance

The increased metabolic and biomechanical demands of ambulation limit community mobility in persons with lower limb disability due to neurological damage. There is a critical need for improving the locomotion capabilities of individuals who have walking impairments due to disease to increase their community mobility, independence, and health. Robotic exoskeletons have the potential to assist these individuals by increasing community mobility to improve quality of life. While these devices have incredible potential, current technology does not support dynamic movements common with locomotion such as transitioning between different gaits and supporting a wide variety of walking speeds. One significant challenge in achieving community ambulation with exoskeletons is providing an adaptive control system to accomplish a wide variety of locomotor tasks. Many exoskeletons today are developed without a detailed understanding of the effect of the device on the human musculoskeletal system. This research is interested in studying the question of how the control system affects human biomechanics including kinematic, kinetics and muscle activation patterns. By optimizing exoskeleton controllers based on human biomechanics and adapting control based on task, the biggest benefit to patient populations will be achieved to help advance the state-of-the-art with assistive hip exoskeletons.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

One significant challenge in achieving community ambulation with exoskeletons is providing an adaptive control system to accomplish a wide variety of locomotor tasks. Many exoskeletons today are developed without a detailed understanding of the effect of the device on the human musculoskeletal system. The study is interested in exploring the question of how the control system affects human biomechanics including kinematic, kinetics and muscle activation patterns. By optimizing exoskeleton controllers based on human biomechanics and adapting control based on task, this work will be able to provide the biggest benefit to patients and advance the state-of-the-art with assistive hip exoskeletons. A large patient population that could benefit from lower limb assistive technology are stroke survivors, which is the specific population this proposal targets. One common characteristic of stroke survivors who regain their ability to walk is that the hip muscles are overtaxed due to distal weakness. The investigators propose to use a powered hip exoskeleton to augment their proximal musculature, which needs to produce significant power output in most locomotion activities such as standing up, walking, and going up stairs or slopes. Another biomechanical aspect of stroke survivors is an asymmetric gait in terms of kinematics, kinetics and muscle activations. The research team will examine what kind of exoskeleton assistance is most beneficial to stroke survivors for enhancing community ambulation. The hypothesis is that since the gait is asymmetric, the controller will need to be asymmetric to provide optimal assistance to aid in mobility. The group's long-term research goal is to create powered assistive exoskeletons devices that are of great value to individuals with serious lower limb disabilities by improving clinical outcomes such as walking speed and community ambulation ability. The overall objective of the proposed project is to study the biomechanical effects of using a hip exoskeleton with adaptive controllers for assisting stroke survivors with lower limb deficits to improve their community ambulation capabilities. The central hypothesis overarching both aims is that exoskeleton control that adapts to environmental terrain will improve mobility metrics for human exoskeleton users on community ambulation tasks. The rationale is that since human biomechanics change based on task, exoskeleton controllers likewise need to optimize their assistance levels to match what the human is doing. The first aim of the proposed study is to determine the benefit of exoskeleton control that adapts to the environment for improving community ambulation capability. The team has previously designed and extensively tested an autonomous hip exoskeleton in able-bodied subjects on a treadmill. The investigators plan to extend their control framework to over ground walking and tune assistance magnitude and timing levels to enable efficient locomotion over stairs and ramps on their novel terrain park. The investigators plan to compare a controller that adapts its assistance strategy based on locomotion task to a static controller as well as not wearing the exoskeleton. The primary hypothesis for this aim is that exoskeleton control that adapts to environmental terrain will improve mobility metrics such as task completion speed for human exoskeleton users on community ambulation tasks. The expected outcome of these aims will be an increased understanding of the biomechanical and clinical effects in applying hip assistance with a robotic exoskeleton in community ambulation tasks such as overground walking, ramps and stairs. This work will serve as a foundational start for a broader planned study of optimizing controllers to improve biomechanics in the walking impaired using powered hip autonomous exoskeletons.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
10

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30332
        • Exoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Controls Lab

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Between 18-85 years of age
  • Subjects should be capable of walking, ascending/descending stairs and ramps with full capability in lower extremity passive range of motion (knee flexion contracture of >10 degrees, knee flexion ROM < 90 degrees, hip flexion contracture < 25 degrees, and ankle plantar flexion contracture of >15 degrees).
  • Subjects must be able to walk for at least 5 minutes and willing and able to participate over a 1-6 hours experiment with breaks and rest enforced regularly and as needed.
  • Subjects must be able to transfer (sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit) with no external support (arm rests OK) and to ambulate over small slopes (3 degrees) and a few steps (6 steps).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of neurological injury, gait pathology, or cardiovascular condition that would limit your ability to ambulate for multiple hours.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Healthy individuals using powered exoskeleton
This study will be conducted on a sample population of able-bodied subjects (single arm). Each subject will test with each condition of the exoskeleton (repeated measures).
Device: Powered hip exoskeleton
The study team will test a powered hip exoskeleton and its capability to improve locomotion.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-Selected Walking Speed Using Hip Exoskeleton Assistance Across Different Locomotion Modes
Time Frame: 4 hours
Measure Description: The subject's preferred overground walking speed while wearing a powered hip exoskeleton was recorded. During walking, the exoskeleton provided hip assistance. There was a total of five walking conditions that were evaluated: 1) level-ground, 2) ramp ascent, 3) ramp descent, 4) stair ascent and 5) stair descent. The ramp incline was set to 9.2 degrees and the stair height was set to 15.24 cm. The user's preferred walking speed was calculated by looking at the distance traveled divided by time for a given walking condition. The distance was fixed and a completion time for each trial was recorded with a computer timer to calculate the average walking velocity for a given trial.
4 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Georgia Institute of Technology

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Aaron Young, Ph.D., Georgia Tech

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 13, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 15, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 19, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 19, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 23, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 8, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 13, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • H19178

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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