EFFECT OF 4-WEEKS TRAINING PROGRAM USING WEARABLE HIP-ASSIST ROBOT IN OLDER ADULTS

S. Jang-hoon1, B. Naeun1, L. Hwangjae2, K. Dongwoo2, L. Wan-hee1
1Sahmyook University, Physical Therapy, Seoul, Korea (Republic of), 2Samsung Electronics, Robot Business Team, Suwon, Korea (Republic of)

Background: 30-40% of people over the age of 65 have at least one fall per year due to decrease in strength and balance. Therefore, interventions to improve the balance and strength of the elderly are needed. Aerobic exercise and resistance exercise and balance exercise are essential elements of the elderly exercise program. The development of the rapidly growing field of robotics has a great impact on individuals, society and the economy. A wearable robot is an exoskeleton robot that assists human movement. It is applied to various fields as well as military, disaster prevention, and rehabilitation. Depending on the mechanical properties of the Wearable Hip-assist Robot (WHR), an wearable hip joint exercise assistance robot, developed by Samsung Electronics (Suwon, Republic of Korea), it is expected to be suitable for the elderly as it can perform various complex exercises such as aerobic exercise and resistance exercise.

Purpose: This study was conducted to verify the effect of 4-week combined exercise program applying the WHR developed by Samsung Electronics to older adults.

Methods: 21 elderly (mean age 76.38 ± 4.97) were recruited for this study. A combined exercise program of resistance exercise(15mins)+aerobic exercise(20mins) with the WHR was performed to a single group of 21 subjects 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Total 8 of evaluations are conducted: 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12), Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging (RUSI), Surface Electromyography (sEMG), Manual muscle tester (MMT), Time up and go test (TUG), 10 meters walk test (10MWT), One leg stance test (OLST). Pre- and post- measurement results were compared and analyzed for comparison before and after participating in the single-group WHR 4-week exercise program, and some data(TUG, 10MWT) were compared and analyzed before, mid-point, and after data.

Results: Gastrocnemius muscle activation, rectus femoris muscle power showed statistically significant improvements after exercise with the WHR (p<0.05). In the change of gait posture, there was a statistically significant improvement in stride length (p<0.01) and pelvic movement{(tilt, obiliquty (p<0.05), rotation (p<0.01)}. There was a statistically significant improvement in propulsion (p<0.01). In addition, The time required has been statistically significantly reduced in TUG, OLST with eyes closed, and abdominal fat percentage also statistically significantly reduced (p<0.05). A statistically significant improvement was observed in the right and left leg muscle mass and the physical score of SF-12 (p<0.05).

Conclusions: These results demonstrate that a 4-week exercise with the WHR was effective in improving functional gait of elderly increasing in pelvic movement and muscle strength in the lower extremities followed by increased walking speed and stability of gait due to the increase of core muscle activation.

Implications:
The 4-week exercise program with the WHR had an effect on improving walking function, but showed a partial effect on muscle strength improvement. In this experiment, the muscle activity of the core muscles (rectus abdominis, erector spinae) tends to increase during walking, which is expected to increase gait stability, which have a positive effect on reducing the incidence of falls. However, considering that the subjects were elderly, it is considered that a long-term exercise period is necessary to improve muscle strength.

Funding acknowledgements: This study was supported by Samsung Electronics (202200380001).

Keywords:
Wearable robot
Exercise
Older adults

Topics:
Innovative technology: robotics


Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: Sahmyook University
Committee: Institutional Review Board of Sahmyook University
Ethics number: SYU 2022-04-015-001

All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.

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