title: Position versus force control: using the 2-DOF robotic ankle trainer to assess ankle's motor control.
abstract: An estimated of 2,000,000 acute ankle sprains occur annually in the United States. Furthermore, ankle disabilities are caused by neurological impairments such as traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy and stroke. The virtually interfaced robotic ankle and balance trainer (vi-RABT) was introduced as a cost-effective platform-based rehabilitation robot to improve overall ankle/balance strength, mobility and control. The system is equipped with 2 degrees of freedom (2-DOF) controlled actuation along with complete means of angle and torque measurement mechanisms. Vi-RABT was used to assess ankle strength, flexibility and motor control in healthy human subjects, while playing interactive virtual reality games on the screen. The results suggest that in the task with 2-DOF, subjects have better control over ankle's position vs. force.
authors.forename: Amir B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Farjadian
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nabian
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartman
authors.forename: Johnathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corsino
authors.forename: Constantinos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mavroidis
authors.forename: Maureen K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Holden
mesh_terms: D000842:Ankle / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface