The REFLEX Exoskeleton

Hemiparetic gait is characterized by strong asymmetries that can severely affect the quality of life of stroke survivors. This asymmetry is due to motor deficits in the paretic leg and the resulting compensations in the non-paretic limb. By actively promoting gait symmetry in hemiparetic patients, the necessity of these compensations should be reduced and, therefore, motion changes should be detected in both paretic and non-paretic lower limbs. This chapter presents the design and preliminary validation of the REFLEX prototype, a unilateral active Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthosis able to naturally assist the paretic limb of hemiparetic patients during gait. Results proved the feasibility of REFLEX to assist gait by reinforcing symmetry. They also pointed out that the assistance of the paretic leg decreased the compensatory strategies developed by the non-paretic limb to achieve a functional gait.