J241023 電気刺激を用いた擬似体性感覚フィードバックによる股関節角度提示([J241-02]医工学テクノロジーによる医療福祉機器開発(2))

抄録

This paper proposes a pseudo-proprioceptive motion feedback system by using electric stimulation for paraplegic patients to sense walking motion's states. A wearable-type controller is developed for them to control an exoskeleton that physically supports lower limbs motion to walk. The paraplegic patients cannot know a current lower limb's state due to loss of their somatosensory feedback. Patients who frequently use the walking support system therefore check state of their lower limbs by sight. As a result, they cannot look forward during walking. In practical life environment, it is dangerous manner for the patient. The purpose of our study is to inform the lower limbs' state without any visual contact. This paper proposes a tactile feedback system that conveys the lower limbs posture using an electric stimulation. Some preliminary experiments are executed to measure capabilities of healthy people with normal proprioceptive feedback and with the substitute feedback using the electric stimulation in terms of resolution and time delay of the hip joint angle, and limitation of sensitivity of inertia change. Our developed feedback system achieved the same performance such as joint angle precision, time delay and sensibility of inertia change as human has.