Ankle Walking Assist Device (AWAD)

Feet tired? Need to add a little bit of get-up-and-go in your workday? Well, get the lead out the easy way with a strength-enhancing exo-boot that straps to the ankle giving a power boost to anyone?s gait.

Slated for 2015 and aimed at the elderly; ageing Boomer and handicapped markets, this exo-boot screams Nike all over it. Check out the product photo; all that?s missing is the Nike swoosh mark
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This expensive-looking [no pricing as of yet] exo-boot will hit retail footwear dealers and will transform leisure activities and sports. Sports, especially. Performance-enhancing footwear will lift every wannabe athlete into a workout dynamo.

?Honey, I?m going for a walk.?
?Again!? That?s three times just this evening!?

Or,

?Boss, don?t bother with another lame email. Let me walk this message around to everyone in the company. That way, no one can say they missed it.?

Of course, the ultimate product test will be at the Nike-sponsored reality TV show. Can?t you just see it coming? Teams of ecstatic, grinning couples awaiting the signal to walk from Manhattan to Memphis to find the first clue. Each couple followed by a chase car stuffed to the dashboard with cases of 5-Hour Energy.

Well, maybe this is all a bit premature.

Wearable technology

Yaskawa Electric Corp plans to be the first in the world to sell exoskeletons to the general public. The first device to go on sale will be the Ankle Walking Assist Device (AWAD) that enhances ankle strength and balance.

The wearer straps on the mechanical upgrade and attaches the complimentary battery pack to the waist. The boots then sense heel contact with the ground and deliver boosted strength to aid balance. This could be ideal for anybody recovering from an ankle injury. The avowed target market for this wearable technology is the elderly to help them remain mobile.

While the AWAD upgrades are aimed at the elderly initially, this is a big step ? and metaphorically?for wearable technology.

The device is a collaborative research effort with Shibaura Institute of Technology and Yaskawa Electric Corporation.

According to the company, use of this device is expected to improve gait and restore the walking abilities of those with walking impediments caused by stroke and other factors.

With the aim of making this device more useful and promoting its spread, Yaskawa will continue its clinical research efforts, collecting evidence (clinical results) showing its therapeutic value and continuing in its efforts to improve the device.

The company?s reasons for development, as stated on its website cite the following:

Each year approximately 300,000 people suffer stroke in Japan; the total number of stroke victims in the country is estimated to be upwards of 3 million individuals.

Many stroke victims are left with paralysis on one side of their bodies and other disabilities that prevent them from walking normally (gait), leading to reduced ADL (activities of daily living).

When plantarflexion and dorsiflexion of the ankle are insufficient while walking, there is an especially high risk of falls. Thus, with traditional rehabilitation, where safety is paramount, it was common to install equipment that stabilized the ankle at an angle so that the patient?s toes would not drag or get caught on anything.

With only verbal instructions given by the therapist, it was difficult for patients themselves to understand and learn how to move their ankle – as well as the timing involved with such movement – when walking, meaning patients found it difficult to walk properly.

Enter the Yaskawa Ankle Walking Assist Device (AWAD), at a store near you?soon.

Features of the AWAD

• Utilizing information received from sensors on the soles of the patient?s feet, the motor of this device assists the dorsiflexion movements of the ankle so that when the patient?s heel comes in contact with the ground, during the time of contact there is a forward transfer of the center of gravity, giving him or her the power necessary to stride forward.
• When starting to walk, dorsiflexion assistance acts to expand the gastrocnemius muscle (a single biarticular muscle that saddles two joints), thus causing reflexive muscle contraction. This reflexive muscle contraction links the movements of the patient?s knees and hips, allowing for a smooth start.
• Device configuration is straightforward, meaning that putting the device on, setting it up and making adjustments can be done quickly and easily. What?s more, because the device is small and can be carried directly on the body, it can be worn in or under the patient?s clothing, thus eliminating restrictions to movement and greatly aiding in walking rehabilitation activities.
• So that the part of the device placed on the ankle could be lightweight, thus lessening the burden placed on the patient, the ankle drive and controller are separate, with power transferred directly to the ankle via the device?s small, flat motor.

Right now, I feel sure that somewhere in Beaverton a Nike development team is salivating in unison.