We are conducting a research project to study the effects of ankle push-off assistance on an individual's maximum capacity to generate ankle push-off during walking. These findings will help to guide the development of more effective exoskeleton designs.
When you visit, you will be informed of the study purpose and protocol and given time to ask questions before signing a consent form. You will then complete a series of walking trials for this study. First, you will complete a few overground walking trials to help determine your preferred walking speed. Then, you will complete walking trials on the treadmill while wearing an ankle exoskeleton. There will be a resistance applied at your waist in each of these trials, and this resistance will increase over time. You will walk until you are physically unable to maintain the speed set on the treadmill, at which point the trial will end; there is a safety harness installed to prevent any type of fall during this maximum capacity test. These treadmill trials often last around 30 seconds. In total, there will be four treadmill walking trials where the amount of push-off assistance provided by the ankle exoskeleton will vary. Finally, you will sit comfortably in a chair with one foot on a pedal capable of measuring calf muscle strength. You will push against the pedal with your maximum force three separate times and that will conclude your participation in the study.
Requirements for healthy volunteers are different than for those with a specific condition. If you are interested in becoming a healthy volunteer for this study, use the below categories to determine if you are able to participate.
UNC Applied Biomechanics Lab
Mary Ellen Jones Building (UNC-Chapel Hill)
116 Manning Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Jason Franz
Biomedical Engineering - Undergraduate
Clinical or Medical
Observational
Bones, Joints, Muscles
Healthy Volunteer or General Population
Movement
24-2055