Exploring Multimodal Gait Rehabilitation and Assistance through an Adaptable Robotic Platform

Lower-limb exoskeletons and smart walkers are robotic devices to assist patients in regaining their autonomy after a stroke. The integration of these devices enables gait rehabilitation and functional compensation, promoting natural over-ground walking. This article presents the Adaptable Robotic Platform for Gait Rehabilitation and Assistance (AGoRA V2 platform), which integrates the new AGoRA V2 Smart Walker and the AGoRA V2 unilateral lower-limb exoskeleton. It was evaluated with 14 healthy subjects using physiological and kinematic variables and a perception assessment. The study entailed four conditions: Without exoskeleton (WOE), With Exoskeleton (WE&T), With Walker (WW), and With Platform (WP). Results indicate a reduction in the muscle activity of the Rectus Femoris (18%) and Vastus Lateralis (15%), comparing WE&T and WP, as well as walking without any device (WOE) and using any robotic device (WE&T, WW, WP). Results suggest the importance of combining the exoskeleton with the robotic walker and the assistance of each device independently. Moreover, using the complete platform induces slower gait patterns than the walker, as the mean impulse force and linear velocity decrease by 42% and 44%, respectively. These results demonstrate that the platform contributes to safety, and improvements in gait parameters and muscular activity, indicating the system's potential to act as a modular device according to users' conditions and therapeutic goals.