Effects of a Powered Lower-Limb Exoskeleton on Walking Performance in Older Adults (E-WALK)
Acute Effects of a Powered Lower-Limb Exoskeleton on Walking Performance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Crossover Trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a powered wearable lower-limb exoskeleton can improve walking performance in independently ambulatory older adults aged 65 to 75 years.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does use of a powered lower-limb exoskeleton increase comfortable walking speed over 10 meters?
- Does use of a powered lower-limb exoskeleton increase average walking speed during a 400-meter walk?
Researchers will compare walking performance in older adults during walking with the powered exoskeleton and walking without the device to determine whether the exoskeleton improves mobility. Young-adult reference participants will also complete walking assessments to provide reference values for walking performance.
Participants will:
- Attend a screening and familiarization visit.
- Complete walking assessments with and without the powered exoskeleton in randomized order (older adults only).
- Perform a 10-meter walk test, a 400-meter walk test, and other physical performance assessments.
- Complete questionnaires about balance confidence, fear of falling, and device usability.
- Be monitored for safety events during testing.
調査の概要
詳細な説明
Age-related decline in mobility is associated with reduced independence, lower quality of life, and increased risk of disability and adverse health outcomes. Walking performance is a clinically meaningful indicator of functional status in older adults, and preservation of mobility is a major goal of healthy aging. Although exercise and rehabilitation interventions can improve mobility, their benefits typically require repeated training and sustained adherence. Technologies that provide immediate assistance during walking may offer a complementary approach to supporting mobility in older adults.
Powered wearable lower-limb exoskeletons are designed to provide external mechanical assistance during locomotion. Previous studies have shown that lower-limb exoskeletons can reduce the metabolic cost of walking and improve walking performance under laboratory conditions. However, less is known about the acute effects of commercially available exoskeleton systems on clinically relevant walking outcomes in independently ambulatory older adults.
This study will evaluate the acute effects of a commercially available powered lower-limb exoskeleton on walking performance in community-dwelling older adults. The primary outcomes are comfortable gait speed during a 10-meter walk test and average walking speed during a 400-meter walk test. Secondary outcomes include lower-extremity physical performance, physiological responses during walking, perceived exertion, balance confidence, fear of falling, device usability, participant satisfaction, and safety outcomes.
The study uses a randomized crossover design. Older adult participants will complete two experimental conditions in randomized order: walking without the exoskeleton and walking with the powered exoskeleton. Participants will attend a screening and familiarization visit followed by two trial visits separated by at least 48 hours. During the familiarization visit, participants will receive device fitting and supervised practice with the exoskeleton. At each trial visit, participants will complete standardized walking and physical performance assessments under the assigned condition.
A young-adult reference group will complete no-device walking assessments to provide reference values for walking performance. Exploratory analyses will examine whether exoskeleton-assisted walking reduces the performance gap between older adults and young adults.
The study hypothesis is that use of the powered exoskeleton will improve both short-distance and sustained walking performance in older adults and partially reduce the mobility performance gap between older and young adults.
研究の種類
入学 (実際)
段階
- 適用できない
連絡先と場所
研究場所
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Changsha、中国、81000
- Hunan Normal University
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参加基準
適格基準
就学可能な年齢
- 大人
- 高齢者
健康ボランティアの受け入れ
説明
Inclusion Criteria:
- Older adults aged 65 to 75 years who are community-dwelling, independently ambulatory, able to walk independently on level ground, able to maintain standing balance without personal assistance, and able to understand study instructions.
- Young-adult reference participants aged 18 to 22 years who are healthy university students without known conditions affecting walking or balance.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Self-reported neurological disease affecting gait or balance.
- Major musculoskeletal injury or surgery affecting walking within the previous 6 months.
- Uncontrolled cardiopulmonary disease.
- Severe visual or vestibular impairment affecting safe walking.
- Current lower-limb pain that limits walking.
- Cognitive impairment that prevents informed consent or protocol adherence.
- Any condition judged by the study team to make participation unsafe.
研究計画
研究はどのように設計されていますか？
デザインの詳細
- 主な目的：支持療法
- 割り当て：ランダム化
- 介入モデル：クロスオーバー割り当て
- マスキング：なし（オープンラベル）
武器と介入
参加者グループ / アーム |
介入・治療 |
|---|---|
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実験的：Older Adults
Community-dwelling older adults aged 65-75 years who complete walking assessments under both no-device and powered-exoskeleton conditions in randomized order using a crossover design.
Participants attend a screening and familiarization visit followed by two trial visits.
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A commercially available powered wearable lower-limb exoskeleton (VIATRIX; ULS Robotics Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China) designed to provide bilateral lower-limb assistance during walking.
The device is worn around the pelvis and lower limbs and provides powered assistance through bilateral actuation.
During powered-device assessments, participants use the adaptive assistive walking mode following device fitting and familiarization procedures.
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介入なし：Young Adult Reference Participants
Healthy young adults aged 18-22 years who complete no-device walking assessments to provide reference values for walking performance.
Participants are not randomized and do not receive the powered exoskeleton intervention.
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この研究は何を測定していますか？
主要な結果の測定
結果測定 |
メジャーの説明 |
時間枠 |
|---|---|---|
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10-Meter Comfortable Gait Speed
時間枠：During each trial visit following completion of the assigned study condition (up to 5 days)
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Comfortable gait speed (m/s) measured during a 10-meter walk test.
Participants walk at their usual comfortable speed along a flat indoor walkway.
Two trials are completed, and the mean gait speed is used for analysis.
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During each trial visit following completion of the assigned study condition (up to 5 days)
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400-Meter Average Walking Speed
時間枠：During each trial visit following completion of the assigned study condition (up to 5 days)
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Average walking speed (m/s) measured during a 400-meter walk test.
Participants walk 400 meters at a self-selected comfortable speed on an indoor walkway.
Average walking speed is calculated as total walking distance divided by total completion time.
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During each trial visit following completion of the assigned study condition (up to 5 days)
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二次結果の測定
結果測定 |
メジャーの説明 |
時間枠 |
|---|---|---|
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Short Physical Performance Battery Score
時間枠：During each trial visit following the assigned study condition, up to 5 days.
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Lower-extremity physical performance assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery.
The test includes standing balance, short-distance gait speed, and repeated chair-stand performance.
Component scores are summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating better physical performance.
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During each trial visit following the assigned study condition, up to 5 days.
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Mean Heart Rate During the 400-Meter Walk
時間枠：During each trial visit following the assigned study condition, up to 5 days.
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Mean heart rate recorded continuously during the 400-meter walk test using a wrist-worn optical heart-rate monitor.
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During each trial visit following the assigned study condition, up to 5 days.
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Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion
時間枠：Immediately after the 400-meter walk test during each trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Perceived exertion is assessed immediately after the 400-meter walk test using the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale.
Scores range from 6 to 20, where 6 indicates "no exertion at all" and 20 indicates "maximal exertion."
Higher scores indicate greater perceived exertion and a worse outcome.
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Immediately after the 400-meter walk test during each trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Fear of Falling 10-Rating Scale Score
時間枠：After physical performance testing during each trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Immediate fear of falling will be assessed after each trial condition using the single-item Fear of Falling 10-Point Rating Scale.
Participants will rate how concerned they were about falling during the walking and physical performance tests completed during that visit.
Scores range from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates "not concerned at all" and 10 indicates "extremely concerned."
Higher scores indicate greater fear of falling and a worse outcome.
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After physical performance testing during each trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale Score
時間枠：After physical performance testing during each trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Balance confidence will be assessed after each trial condition using the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale.
The scale includes 16 activities, each rated from 0%, indicating no confidence in maintaining balance, to 100%, indicating complete confidence in maintaining balance.
The total score is calculated as the mean of the 16 item scores and ranges from 0 to 100.
Higher scores indicate greater balance confidence and a better outcome.
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After physical performance testing during each trial visit, up to 5 days.
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System Usability Scale Score
時間枠：After completion of the powered-device trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Perceived usability of the powered lower-limb exoskeleton will be assessed after the powered-device condition using the 10-item System Usability Scale.
Item responses are converted and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 100.
Higher scores indicate greater perceived usability of the exoskeleton and a better outcome.
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After completion of the powered-device trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction With Assistive Technology 2.0 Device Subscale Score
時間枠：After completion of the powered-device trial visit, up to 5 days.
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Participant satisfaction with the powered lower-limb exoskeleton will be assessed after the powered-device condition using the eight-item device subscale of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction With Assistive Technology 2.0.
Each item is rated from 1, indicating "not satisfied at all," to 5, indicating "very satisfied."
The device-subscale score is calculated as the mean of the valid device-item ratings and ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with the exoskeleton and a better outcome.
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After completion of the powered-device trial visit, up to 5 days.
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その他の成果指標
結果測定 |
メジャーの説明 |
時間枠 |
|---|---|---|
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Number of Falls
時間枠：From enrollment through completion of the final study visit, up to 5 days.
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Number of falls occurring during study procedures.
A fall is defined as an event in which the participant comes to rest inadvertently on the ground, floor, or another lower level.
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From enrollment through completion of the final study visit, up to 5 days.
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Number of Near-Loss-of-Balance Events
時間枠：From enrollment through completion of the final study visit, up to 5 days.
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Number of near-loss-of-balance events occurring during study procedures.
A near-loss-of-balance event is defined as an observable unintended balance disturbance requiring a corrective response to prevent a fall.
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From enrollment through completion of the final study visit, up to 5 days.
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Number of Device-Related Adverse Events
時間枠：From enrollment through completion of the final study visit, up to 5 days.
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Number of adverse events judged to be caused by, probably caused by, or associated with use of the powered lower-limb exoskeleton.
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From enrollment through completion of the final study visit, up to 5 days.
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協力者と研究者
スポンサー
捜査官
- 主任研究者：Yang Zhang, PhD
研究記録日
主要日程の研究
研究開始 (実際)
一次修了 (実際)
研究の完了 (実際)
試験登録日
最初に提出
QC基準を満たした最初の提出物
最初の投稿 (実際)
学習記録の更新
投稿された最後の更新 (実際)
QC基準を満たした最後の更新が送信されました
最終確認日
詳しくは
本研究に関する用語
追加の関連 MeSH 用語
その他の研究ID番号
- HNU-2026-408
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