A suspension system (2) for assisting a user (4) to navigate a staircase (6), the suspension system comprising: a beam (8) positioned above the staircase (6); a carriage (18) displaceable along said beam (8) between a first position at the bottom of the staircase (6) and a second position at the top of the staircase (6); a harness (14) securable to the user (4), said harness (14) being operably connectable to said carriage (18) such that said carriage (18) follows the user (4) as the user (4) navigates the staircase (6); and a brake (42) operably connected to said carriage (18) for braking said carriage; wherein if the user (4) falls while navigating the staircase (6), said brake (42) stops said carriage (18) in place and the user (4) is suspended above the staircase.

A stair assistance device for use with a handrail, the device comprising a sleeve engageable with and slideable relative to the handrail, and a brake element to hinder or prevent sliding movement of the sleeve, wherein, when the sleeve is engaged with a handrail, the brake element is resiliently biased towards the handrail, to hinder or prevent movement of the sleeve when the device is not in use.

A method of operating an exoskeleton system that includes determining a first state estimate for a current classification program being implemented by the exoskeleton system; determining a second state estimate for a reference classification program; determining that a difference between the first and second state estimate is greater than a classification program replacement threshold; generating an updated classification program; and replacing the current classification program with the updated classification program based at least in part on the determining that the difference between the first and second state estimates is greater than the classification program replacement threshold.

A soft-inflatable exosuit for knee rehabilitation is fabricated in two different beam-like structures (I and O cross-section actuators) and mechanically characterized for their torque performance in knee-extension assistance. The fabrication procedure of both types of actuators is presented as well as their integration into a light-weight, low-cost and body-conforming interface. To detect the activation duration of the device during the gait cycle, a soft-silicone insole with embedded force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) is used. In evaluation studies, the soft inflatable exosuit device is tested for its ability to reduce muscle activity during the swing phase of the knee. Using sEMG (surface electromyography) sensors, the rectus femoris muscle group of a healthy individual is recorded while walking on a treadmill at a constant speed, with and without the soft device.

This invention relates to methods, apparatuses, systems for boosting and stimulating the motion of weaker body parts of a person or animal by harvesting the power or strength of stronger body parts. It describes mechanisms for harvesting, storage and release of energy from one part of the body to another part of the body. A preferred embodiment of the present invention describes harvesting through mechanical means, storage through mechanical means and release through mechanical means to help harness energy from one strong part of the body to boost the muscular power of a weaker part of the body.

Hybrid terrain-adaptive lower-extremity apparatus and methods that perform in a variety of different situations by detecting the terrain that is being traversed, and adapting to the detected terrain. In some embodiments, the ability to control the apparatus for each of these situations builds upon five basic capabilities: (1) determining the activity being performed; (2) dynamically controlling the characteristics of the apparatus based on the activity that is being performed; (3) dynamically driving the apparatus based on the activity that is being performed; (4) determining terrain texture irregularities (e.g., how sticky is the terrain, how slippery is the terrain, is the terrain coarse or smooth, does the terrain have any obstructions, such as rocks) and (5) a mechanical design of the apparatus that can respond to the dynamic control and dynamic drive.

A support device includes a base portion, a leg coupled to the base portion, the leg including an upper segment, a central segment pivotally coupled to the upper segment at a front wheel, a lower segment pivotally coupled to the central segment, a rear wheel coupled to the lower segment, and an engagement member coupled to the lower segment, where the engagement member is positionable between a disengaged position, in which at least a portion of the engagement member is positioned above the rear wheel, and an engaged position, in which at least a portion of the engagement member is positioned at or below the rear wheel.

A walking aid is provided, including a frame body, a connecting assembly and two first adjusting assemblies. The frame body includes two first legs which are parallel to each other and two second legs which are parallel to each other. The connecting assembly includes two first cross bars and two second cross bars, each said first cross bar is further pivoted to one of the two second legs, and the two second cross bars are respectively pivoted to and between one of the two first legs and one of the two second legs. Each said first adjusting assembly includes a first abutting assembly and a second abutting assembly, and each said first abutting assembly is disposed on one of the two first legs and movable to be located in a first position or a second position.

Methods and apparatuses for recognizing a gait task, that may detect a gait pattern of a user based on sensed data, generate a gait feature of the gait pattern based on similarities between the gait pattern and similar gait data extracted from each of a plurality of databases, and estimate a gait task corresponding to the gait pattern by applying the gait feature to a desired learning model, may be provided.

Wireless sensor network motes and radar & sensor-based systems receive sensed data, compare it to a predetermined standard and generate a signal to deploy a corresponding response.