We developed a walking assistance apparatus which can be used for gait training of neuro-rehabilitation for patients and for the promotion of exercise for the elderly. This apparatus assists only the ankle joints of the equipped person according to the posture of him/her while not only walking, but also getting up, sitting, and standing. By using this apparatus, the dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of the ankle joint of the equipped person can increase while walking. This apparatus can improve of the equipped person's gait.

We developed a new whole body motion support type mobile suit. This suit can be used separately for supporting the upper and/or lower limbs, for assisting ADL (Activities of Daily Living). We also developed a mobile lifter system which can bear both the equipped person and the suit. This suit and the lifter can be used by motor palsy patients suffering from stroke, spinal-cord-injury, and central nerve disorders. Using this device, these patients can recover normal gait with no risk of falling. In this paper, the cerebral activity during walking using the suit and normal gait without the suit are compared. According to multiple trials with the suit on a treadmill, the activities of the premotor area sensory motor cortex decreased. Especially, while walking using the suit for supporting lower limbs without swinging arms, the cerebral activities of most of the areas decreased. It means to be ineffective for the patients accustomed to the suit in rehabilitation. However, on the contrary, by walking while swinging bilateral arms (even though these arms were assisted by the suit), the activity in the supplementary motor area increased (this area of the brain is related with memory of motion). Furthermore, the cerebral activities while walking on a treadmill and while walking in a corridor with an outside view were compared. From the results of this experiment, we found it is most effective for gait training to actually walk and not stay fixed in one location. We also found it is important for patients to swing their arms during gait training in rehabilitation. Finally, we compared the differences of the cerebral activity during ADL rehabilitation (flexion, extension, and rotation of the subject's elbow) using our suit operated by a third party or themselves (using opposite hand). From this result, cerebral activity while self operated was higher than the result operated by third party, even though the subjects were assisted with the suit in both experiments. From these trials, we can conclude that this suit is suitable to assist patients in gait and ADL rehabilitation.

A prototype for a walking assistance apparatus for the elderly or motor palsy patients was developed, using a novel spatial parallel link mechanism. The flat steps of the apparatus move in parallel with the ground; the apparatus can support entire leg alignment (including soles) and assist; walking behavior at ankle, knee and hip joints simultaneously. By using a flexible link, constructed of stainless steel and rubber, the apparatus can realize the natural twisting motions of the ankle. Furthermore, in order to assist walking on uneven surfaces, we investigated walking on a slopes or stairs. For these tasks, the apparatus was equipped with a gyro sensor and an ultrasonic sensor; so the angle of the slope and the height of the stairs could be recognized. The apparatus adapted according to the signals from these sensors. Results owed that our experiment, the equipped person wearing the apparatus could walk on slopes and stairs. Motor palsy and muscle weakness patients can walk by themselves by using the apparatus; patients who have ambulation difficulty can use the apparatus with weight bearing lift that we developed. Using the apparatus with the weight bearing lift prevents stumbling and enables input of walking movement to the brain motor area. It may be beneficial for rehabilitation to use the apparatus with the weight bearing lift. This newly developed system may facilitate motor palsy and muscle weakness patients in the rehabilitation program. The effectiveness of the apparatus for one hour walking was evaluated by variation of Mean Power Frequency (MPF) of the Electromyography (EMG) data with continuous wavelet analysis. Muscle fatigue of the Tibialis Anterior muscle (TA) decreased during wearing of the apparatus. We showed the effectiveness of using the apparatus in walking.