mechatronics system for rehabilitation devices

3. 1) Introduction
2) Issues
- Mechatronics system for rehabilitation devices
of knee problem
- Types of AKROD
- Structure design considerations
- Advantages of AKROD
3) Conclusion
4) References

4. • Osteoarthritis affects elderly people in most
cases, and will be a major concern in the future.
• Treatments of knee injuries will require proper
resting and reducing the pressure acting on the
knee joint.
• The use of a robotic device is to improve
neuromuscular control as well as a treatment to
knee problems.
• AKROD stands for Active Knee Rehabilitation
Orthotic Device

5. • Northeastern University’s Active Knee Rehabilitation
Device (AKROD) is one of the institutions that carried
out assistive devices to aid the human limbs.
• Designed for post-stroke individuals, who have
regained a certain level of motor control but not yet
fully attained normal walking capabilities.
• AKROD functions by providing active assistance to
the patient’s lower limbs.
• The proposed system allows for the normal
movement of the knee and allows the patient to
incorporate techniques to prevent hyperextension.

6. 1
2
Roboknee
Brushless DC Motor
Based AKROD
4
Electro -rheological Fluid
(ERF) based Knee
Rehabilitation Device 3
using variable
controlled resistance
Gear Bearing Drive
based AKROD

7. • Three standard components were incorporated into the
structure to ensure proper functioning of the device and
better suitability for wearing onto the limb.
• The coupling, being flexible for lateral adjustments, was
to allow adjustments at the thigh of the user to and
firmer attachment onto the limb.
• The needle roller bearings is to reduce friction between
these two contacting surfaces.
• Both the encoder side and motor side were assembled
and combined with the footpad which functions as an
effective ground contact loading over a gait movement.

9. Advantages of AKROD
Capable of aiding the knee by reducing the knee
stress without affecting the mobility of the user.
Helps people with weak lower extremity
muscle and muscle diseases to walk
and climb stairs more easily.
Patient save time and cost
required to visit the hospital.
Patient exercises and improvements
can be monitored regularly by the therapist.
Increased motivation for the patients to exercise
at home even without direct medical supervision.

10. Conclusion
AKROD is useful because it provides
variable damping at the knee joints
and accelerates the recovery of knee
injury patients.
This device could be an important tool
for the rehabilitation specialist to test
lower extremity strength.
The initial results from human testing
indicate that the AKROD is able to
accurately produce desired torque
and velocity while providing a
desirable level of comfort for the
person wearing the device.

11. References
1. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org Jason Nikitczuk, Brian
Weinberg, Paul K. Canavan, and Constantinos Mavroidis
Active Knee Rehabilitation Orthotic Device WithVariable
Damping Characteristics Implemented via an
Electrorheological Fluid IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON
MECHATRONICS, VOL. 15, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2010.
2. http://iris.lib.neu.eduVishal Jain (Northeastern University)
Design and control of active knee rehabilitation orthotic
device (AKROD) January 01, 2009
3. http://www.biomedcentral.com Jason Nikitczuk, Brian
Weinberg, Gil Danaher, Katherine Jensen, Philip Pelletier,
Jennifer Prugnarola, Ryan Stuart, Roberto Arango, Matt
Leahey, Robert Pavone, Andrew Provo and Dan Yasevac
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 12 July
2005

12. Thank You
For your