The effects of a lower body exoskeleton load carriage assistive device on limits of stability and postural sway

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of using a lower body prototype exoskeleton (EXO) on static limits of stability and postural sway. Measurements were taken with participants, 10 US Army enlisted men, standing on a force platform. The men were tested with and without the EXO (15 kg) while carrying military loads of 20, 40 and 55 kg. Body lean to the left and right was significantly less and postural sway excursions and maximal range of movement were significantly reduced when the EXO was used. Hurst values indicated that body sway was less random over short-term time intervals and more random over long-term intervals with the EXO than without it. Feedback to the user's balance control mechanisms most likely was changed with the EXO. The reduced sway and relatively small changes in sway with increasing load weights suggest that the EXO structure may have functioned to provide a bracing effect on the body.