Smart health: the use of a lower limb exoskeleton in patients with sarcopenia

© 2020, Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.Abstract: The exoskeletons are an emerging technology that may help the population in many physical health aspects, regardless of the application area. An affliction that is alarmingly increasing due to the rise in the population¿s average age and their sedentary lifestyles, is sarcopenia. The sarcopenia is the diminish of muscle mass and muscle strength, with the pass of the time. One of the main ways to avoid its development is by performing physical activities, however, when an elderly person needs to perform them, there is a problem due to their physical capacity. A lower-limb exoskeleton can help the elderly, who do not have the minimum muscle strength needed, to perform physical activities. Monitoring the muscles of the user with an electromyography (EMG) portable device, while wearing the exoskeleton, will give a quantitative response analysis to ensure the exoskeleton is helping the patient. After the data has been acquired by the EMG, it can then be uploaded to the cloud for the processing of the information and its further display for a daily check by a medical expert. This process provides a more efficient way of checking the patient¿s sarcopenia development, but also, to promote the further constant use of the exoskeleton in the daily life of the patients, in order to improve their life quality. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Smart health: the use of a lower limb exoskeleton in patients with sarcopenia Academic Article in Scopus