title: Assessment of lower extremity motor adaptation via an extension of the force field adaptation paradigm.
abstract: Lower extremity rehabilitation has seen recent increased interest. New tools are available to improve gait retraining in both adults and children. However, it remains difficult to determine optimal ways to plan interventions due to difficulties in continuously monitoring outcomes in patients undergoing rehabilitation. In this paper, we introduce an extension of the Force Field Adaptation Paradigm, used to quantitatively assess upper extremity motor adaptation, to the lower extremity. The algorithm is implemented on the Lokomat lower extremity gait orthosis and utilized to assess short-term motor adaptation. Establishing an understanding of how healthy adults' motor systems adapt to external perturbations will be important to understanding how the adaptive mechanisms involved in gait are altered by disease.
authors.affiliation: Harvard-MIT Department of Health Sciences and Technology, USA. iahn@mit.edu
authors.forename: Iahn
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cajigas
authors.forename: Mary T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duschau-Wicke
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riener
authors.forename: Maurice A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Emery N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonato
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome