title: Passive exoskeletons for assisting limb movement.
abstract: This article presents the state of the art in passive devices for enhancing limb movement in people with neuromuscular disabilities. Both upper- and lower-limb projects and devices are described. Special emphasis is placed on a passive functional upper-limb orthosis called the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX). The development and testing of the WREX with children with limited arm strength are described. The exoskeleton has two links and 4 degrees of freedom. It uses linear elastic elements that balance the effects of gravity in three dimensions. The experiences of five children with arthrogryposis who used the WREX are described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Research, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, 1600 Rockland Road, Wilmington, DE 19899, USA. trahman@nemours.org
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Whitney
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sample
authors.forename: Shanmuga
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jayakumar
authors.forename: Marilyn Marnie
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Jin Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wee
authors.forename: Rahamim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seliktar
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Mena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scavina
authors.forename: Alisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001176:Arthrogryposis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D004867:Equipment Design; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D012371:Robotics