A method for exercising a joint and a limb including the following: preventing movement of an exercise device actuation member in a first direction unless pressure exerted by the limb against the actuation member is equal to or greater than a predetermined first target pressure; permitting movement of the actuation member in the first direction at a first predetermined speed when pressure exerted by the limb against the actuation member is equal to or greater than the predetermined first target pressure; preventing movement of the actuation member in a second direction unless pressure exerted by the limb against the actuation member is equal to or greater than a predetermined second target pressure; and permitting movement of the actuation member in the second direction at a second predetermined speed when pressure exerted by the limb against the actuation member is equal to or greater than the predetermined second target pressure.

A motion assistance apparatus including a first support configured to support a waist of a user, a side frame connected to the first support and configured to cover at least a portion of a side of the waist, and a joint assembly connected to the side frame such that a location of the joint assembly is adjustable in a longitudinal direction of the side frame, and configured to be located at a part of a hip joint of the user is disclosed.

The invention relates to a curved spherical scissors linkage mechanism (1) comprising at least four linkage elements (2) each having a first end (3) and a second end (4); the linkage elements are arranged to form sides of one rhombus or parallelogram, or a series, such as a network, of joined rhombi or parallelograms. Each of the linkage elements is rotationally connected to one of the other linkage elements via a revolute joint (5) at or near the first end and is rotationally connected to another one of the other linkage elements via another revolute joint at or near the second end. The linkage elements are shaped, dimensioned and arranged so that the axes of all the revolute joints coincide at one common remote centre of motion (RCM). Furthermore, the mechanism is grounded or connected or connectable to a first external member (7) at a proximal end and is rotationally connected or connectable to a second external member (9) at an opposite distal end. Hereby a spherical linkage mechanism with three DOFs is obtained. The spherical scissors linkage mechanism may further comprise a motion controlling mechanism at the proximal and/or at the distal end. It further comprises actuator means as control means.

A shoulder brace includes a shoulder cuff that can be worn to cover the shoulder of a user, an upper arm cuff that can be worn to cover the elbow joint of the user, a belt that can secure the shoulder cuff to the shoulder of the user, and an actuator that is the McKibben artificial muscle which can optionally expand and contract in entire length. The actuator contains a main actuator to link the vicinity of the acromion on the shoulder cuff and a side face of the upper arm cuff across the shoulder joint, an anterior auxiliary actuator to link a front face of the shoulder cuff and a front face of the upper arm cuff across the shoulder joint, and a posterior auxiliary actuator to link a back face of the shoulder cuff and a back face of the upper arm cuff across the shoulder joint.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an exosuit support system, comprising first and second orthotic interfaces, first and second members, and first and second actuators. The first and second orthotic interfaces can be configured to attach to left and right legs of a user, respectively. The first member can comprise a first end connected to the first orthotic interface and a second end connected to a portion of the system configured to be positioned proximate a right shoulder of the user. The second member can comprise a first end connected to the second orthotic interface and a second end connected to a portion of the system configured to be positioned proximate a left shoulder of the user. The first actuator can be configured to apply a first tension to the first member. The second actuator can be configured to apply a second tension to the second member.

A joint mobilization apparatus includes a pulling unit and a power unit. The pulling unit includes a wearable member set for mounting on the patient's joint part, and a rope set connected to the wearable member set. The power unit provides power of reciprocatingly pulling the rope set, and includes a shell member, a motor, and a reciprocation mechanism connected to the motor and the rope set. The reciprocation mechanism is driven by the motor to reciprocate relative to the shell member, so as to pull the rope set to reciprocate the wearable member set and patient's joint part. By using the power unit to drive the pulling unit to pull reciprocatingly for mobilizing the patient's joint part, instead of the therapist's treatment, the therapist's burden in physical strength can be reduced. Furthermore, the joint mobilization apparatus can provide the user to execute various muscle training modes.

A motion assistance apparatus includes a force transmitting frame having a sliding space therein, the force transmitting frame configured to support a distal part of a user, a slider configured to slide in the sliding space, and a driving frame connected to the slider and configured to slide with respect to a proximal part of the user.

The present invention provides an upper limb function assessment device and the use method thereof and an upper limb rehabilitation training system and the use method thereof, wherein the upper limb function assessment device includes a display, a depth camera and a central processor, the depth camera is used to capture a user's motion, the display is used to display motion demonstration and the user's motion, and the central processor is connected to the display and the depth camera, respectively. The present invention captures the user's motion precisely with the depth camera, which makes the obtained data more accurate and objective, and also facilitates recording and storage of the obtained data. The central processor determines whether the completion of the motion meets the requirements in assessment scales, allowing the user to come up with an assessment report on his own without requiring a lot of assistance from a physician.

A system for assisting an operator in exerting efforts comprises a frame having one or more degrees of freedom and supporting a compensation device arranged to provide assistive forces to a joint of the operator. The compensation device comprises a regulation device comprising a motor arranged to adjust a degree of tension in an elastic mechanism. The regulation device receives instructions from a control system based on information obtained from an encoder or the operator's preferences recorded at a control panel.

In a state where a drive unit is located on a lateral side of a joint(s) of a wearer wearing clothes and a communication unit and a frame unit are fixed and retained corresponding to the wearer's first and second body sites, respectively, a driving torque of an actuator according to movements of the wearer's joint is transmitted as an assist force to the first and second body sites without giving any physical burdens or hindrances in daily life to the wearer.