Activities With a Microprocessor-Controlled Leg Brace for Patients With Lower Limb Paralysis: A Series of Case Studies

Lower limb paralysis often leads to depreciation in mobility of the affected individuals. Computer-controlled leg brace systems open up new possibilities for these patients, by improving the safety of mobility tasks in everyday life, especially when walking on uneven terrain, inclined surfaces, steps and stairs. This article introduces such a system. To investigate the use of device functionalities in the patient's everyday environment, the knee joint of the brace was configured to store data of various sensors, measuring motion with a high temporal resolution over several weeks of home use. Results from a clinical trial including 8 patients with different pathologies show that the system was used by the patients for more than 10 hours per day on average, taking more than 2,100 steps per day. Maximum use time was more than 20.24 hours with 12,609 steps per day. An implemented yielding function to support walking down slopes or stairs was used by all patients. This function can also catch the user in case of stumbling, which on average happened 3 times per day. Seven out of eight patients reported improvements in quality and safety of many activities in daily life using the novel system, compared to their previous device.