Ergonomic Design Strategy for Crutches of a Lower-limb Exoskeleton for Paraplegic Individuals: An Experimental Study

This paper presents a design strategy for crutches used to operate paraplegic exoskeletons. With Hyundai Medical Exoskeleton (H-MEX) and its controller crutch, we conducted an experiment performing a series of movements with 30 subjects followed by post-interviews. With regard to previous design of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 1012 - 1016
Main Authors Han, Jimin, Jin Hyun, Dong, Jung, Kyungmo, Yoon Kim, Kye, Youn, Seokyoung
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.09.2018
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Summary:This paper presents a design strategy for crutches used to operate paraplegic exoskeletons. With Hyundai Medical Exoskeleton (H-MEX) and its controller crutch, we conducted an experiment performing a series of movements with 30 subjects followed by post-interviews. With regard to previous design of crutches, significant design issues such as operational logic and button layout were identified. We suggest HMI strategies to improve the crutch in four specific directions: simple operation, comfortable shape and arrangement, clear information feedback, and enhanced convenience. A new design has been proposed by applying the HMI strategy and will help patients more effectively by reducing burden and fatigue when using crutch.
ISSN:1071-1813
2169-5067
DOI:10.1177/1541931218621233