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Robotics in Healthcare pp 37–68Cite as

Smart and Assistive Walker – ASBGo: Rehabilitation Robotics: A Smart–Walker to Assist Ataxic Patients

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1170))

Abstract

Locomotion is an important human faculty that affects an individual’s life, bringing not only physical and psychosocial implications but also heavy social-economic consequences. Thus, it becomes paramount to find means (augmentative/assistive devices) to empower the user’s residual capacities and promote functional recovery.

In this context, a smart walker (SW) is explored for further clinical evaluation of ataxic patients during walker-assisted and to serve as a functional compensation and assist-as-needed personalized/customized rehabilitation tool, autonomously adapting assistance to the users’ needs, through innovative combination of real-time multimodal sensory information from SW built-in sensors. To meet the users’ needs, its design was weighed, considering to whom it is intended.

Thereby, this paper presents the system overview, focusing on design considerations, mechanical structure (frame and main components), electronic and mechatronic components, followed by its functionalities. Lastly, it presents results regarding the main functionalities, addressing clinical evidence.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported in part by the FEDER Funds through the COMPETE 2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and P2020 with the Reference Project EML under Grant POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033067 and through the COMPETE 2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI)—with the Reference Project under Grant POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade do Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Rui Moreira, Joana Alves & Cristina Santos

  2. Center for Microelectromechanical Systems (CMEMS) / Academic Clinical Center (2CA Braga, Braga Hospital), Guimarães, Portugal

    Rui Moreira, Joana Alves & Cristina Santos

  3. Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Matias

  4. Departamento de Medicina Física e de Reabilitação, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Matias

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  1. Rui Moreira
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  2. Joana Alves
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  3. Ana Matias
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  4. Cristina Santos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Santos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Systems and Robotics, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Silva Sequeira

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Moreira, R., Alves, J., Matias, A., Santos, C. (2019). Smart and Assistive Walker – ASBGo: Rehabilitation Robotics: A Smart–Walker to Assist Ataxic Patients. In: Sequeira, J. (eds) Robotics in Healthcare. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1170. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24230-5_2

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