We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
DETERMINATION OF FOOT-PLATE SPACING FOR SWIVEL WALKERS BY AN OPTIMIZATION METHOD.
- Authors
Cheng, Chih-Hsiu; Chang, Liang-Wey; Lin, Kwan-Hwa
- Abstract
Swivel walkers have been useful devices in ambulation for many young paraplegic patients for being advantageous in providing reliable stability, easy handling, and hands-free walking. The placement of the foot-plates on swivel walkers affects the gait efficiency. However, the determination of the foot-plate spacing has been purely empirical and no theoretical work has been attempted before. This study aimed to develop a dynamic model of the swivel walker in the coronal plane to formulate an optimal design problem such that the energy loss due to impact could be computed and minimized within a feasible range of the coronal-plane movement. Children of heights from 0.75 to 1.45 m and weights from 15 to 45 kg fitted with the conventional swivel walkers were simulated. The results indicated that the range of the foot-plate spacing was roughly between 1/4 and 1/6 of the body heights. A regression formula was also derived to estimate foot-plate spacing with respect to the heights and weights of the simulated subjects for clinical applications. We conclude that the theoretical framework not only builds a foundation to determine the foot-plate spacing, but also reveals the dynamic behavior of the swivel walkers in the coronal plane. The results could be applied to the design of other biped locomotion systems.
- Publication
Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis & Communications, 2010, Vol 22, Issue 3, p213
- ISSN
1016-2372
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.4015/S1016237210001931