Powered ankle-foot orthoses: the effects of the assistance on healthy and impaired users while walking

Table 4 Rehabilitation PAFOs tested on hemiplegic and stroke patient

Ref.	Actuation (Pf/Df)	Control	weight PAFO	Subjects	Training and comparisons	Walking Speed	Ul / Bl	Portable	Outcomes
Bharadwaj, 2005 [61]	SOM (Pf + Df), passive inv + ev	P-Bc	/	1 H	/	fixed gait time	Ul	/	lower RoM than in N
Hwang, 2006 [57]	SEA (Pf + Df)	P-Bc: Pf assist during LR and PO, Df assist during MSt and swing	2.8 kg	5 H	N-A-P	/	Ul	no	AFO leads to inefficient walking; in P ↑ PO torque
Kim, 2007 [59]	SEA (Pf + Df)	P-Bc: Pf assist during LR and PO, Df assist during MSt and swing	2.8 kg	1 Hem	Training: 4 weeks; Test: 30 min + N-A-P	/	Ul	no	↑ walking speed and cadence; ↓ asymmetry; prevented foot drop; ↑ Df RoM; improved Pf in PO
Kim, 2011 [58]	SEA (Pf + Df)	P-Bc: Pf assist during LR and PO, Df assist during MSt and swing	2.8 kg	3 Hem	Training: 4 weeks; Test: 30 min + N-A-P	/	Ul	no	↑ walking speed and cadence; ↓ asymmetry; prevented foot drop; ↑ Df RoM; improved Pf in PO
Ward, 2007 [62]	SOM (Pf + Df), passive inv + ev	P-Bc	/	1 Str	Training: 8 weeks; Pre-, mid- and post-tests: N	Self-selected	Ul	/	improved kinematics; ↑ walking cadence; for some tests results in line with training without PAFO
Ward, 2011 [60]	SEA (Pf)	P-Bc: assist PO	/	3 Str	Training: 3 weeks; Pre- and post-test: N	Self-selected	Ul	no	↑ cadence; ↑ RoM

The type of actuator, the weight and portability of the device, the training and testing sessions and the main outcomes of each study are reported. In some studies, the devices were tested also on healthy users
Hem, Str: Hemiplegic and stroke patients; H: Healthy users; SEA: Series elastic actuator; SOM: Double-acting spring over muscle actuator; Pf, Df: Plantarflexion and dorsiflexion; inv, ev: Inversion and eversion; P-Bc: Phase-based controller; LR: Loading response; PO: Push-off; MSt: mid-stance; N, A, P: Normal walking, walking with conventional AFO, PAFO powered walking; Ul, Bl: Uni-/bi-lateral PAFO

ISSN: 1743-0003