Robotic Exosuit Augmented Locomotion (REAL)

Summary

Previous studies of the exosuit technology have culminated in strong evidence for the gait-restorative effects of soft robotic exosuits for patients post-stroke by means of substitution for lost function. The present study builds on this work by suggesting that an exosuit's immediate gait-restorative effects can be leveraged during high intensity gait training to produce long-lasting gait restoration. Current gait training efforts are focused on either quality or intensity. They focus on gait quality often by reducing the training intensity to allow patients to achieve a more normal gait. In contrast, efforts focused on training intensity push participants without focusing on the quality of their movements. These intervention paradigms generally fail to substantially impact community mobility. In this study, the investigators posit that exosuits can uniquely enable an integration of these paradigms (ie, high intensity gait training that promotes quality of movements). For this protocol, exosuits developed in collaboration with an industry partner, ReWalk™ Robotics will be used. To evaluate the effects of REAL gait training, the investigators will use clinical measures of motor and gait function, locomotor mechanics and energetics, and physiologic measures that may infer on motor learning. The spectrum of behavioral and physiologic data that we will collect will enable us to understand more comprehensively the gait-restorative effects of REAL.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

DEVICE

Soft exosuit

A soft exosuit is a textile-based wearable robot that is worn on the paretic ankle. Soft exosuits provide assistive torques through retraction of Bowden cables that connect distally to anchor points on front and back of the ankle, assisting with dorsiflexion during swing for foot clearance, and plantarflexion during late stance to assist with propulsion, respectively. Exosuit assistance is provided synchronously based on the wearer's gait, as detected by integrated inertial measurement units.

BEHAVIORAL

Gait training without exosuits

Control intervention will implement gait training without exosuits. Other elements of intervention are similarly structured as with REAL, with the only exception of using exosuits.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harvard University

  collaborator OTHER

• Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Lou Awad, PT, DPT, PhD

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lou Awad, PT, DPT, PhD · Boston University Charles River Campus

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-02-24

Primary Completion

2022-07-31

Completion

2022-07-31

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations