高齢者転倒予防を目指した歩行訓練システムの開発(設計指針の立案と基礎的評価実験)(機械力学,計測,自動制御)

抄録

This paper describes a rehabilitation system to provide therapeutic exercise in order to prevent falls during walking in older adults. The rehabilitation system consists of a treadmill having two separate walking belts and a personal computer controlling the servomotors in the treadmill. Experiments were conducted in which falling perturbations were generated by suddenly and randomly reducing the speed of the walking belt on the left side. In the primary experiments, 10 young adults and 10 older adults were recruited, and electromyography data were collected during walking with falling perturbation. The reaction time of the musculus tibialis anterior in the non-perturbed leg in the older adults was significantly longer than in the young adults. The activation patterns in the electromyography data were characterized by a stepping reaction to control the posture. These results indicate that instability of walking in older adults may be caused by reduced functioning of the stepping reaction under dynamic balance control. It is believed that the proposed rehabilitation system may provide a novel therapeutic effect to prevent falling in older adults.