Post-Stroke Patients Reach Terra Firma with Wyss Institute's Exosuit
  Technology
From: Medical Design Technology - 07/27/2017

Working towards the long-term goal of developing soft wearable robots that
can be worn as clothing, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically
Inspired Engineering, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Boston University's (BU) College of Health &
Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College have developed a lightweight, soft,
wearable ankle-assisting exosuit that could help reinforce normal gait in
people with hemiparesis after stroke.

Exosuits are anchored to the affected limb of a hemiparetic stroke patient
via functional apparel, and they provide gait-restoring forces to the ankle
joint by transferring mechanical power via a cable-based transmission from
battery-powered actuators that are integrated into a hip belt or an off-board
cart located next to a treadmill.

In ongoing and future research the team is looking to further personalize
exosuit assistance to specific gait abnormalities, investigate assistance at
other joints such as the hip and knee, and assess longer-term therapeutic
effects of their technology.

Read the entire article and view a video (1:36) at:
https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2017/07/post-stroke-patients-reach-terra-firma-wyss-institutes-exosuit-technology

Links:
Soft Robotic Exosuit
https://wyss.harvard.edu/soft-robotic-exosuit

"Harder, better, faster, stronger": tethered soft exosuit reduces the
  metabolic cost of running
https://wyss.harvard.edu/harder-better-faster-stronger-tethered-soft-exosuit-reduces-the-metabolic-cost-of-running

Soft exosuit economies: understanding the costs of lightening the load
https://wyss.harvard.edu/soft-exosuit-economies-understanding-the-costs-of-lightening-the-load

A soft robotic exosuit improves walking in patients after stroke
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/9/400/eaai9084

Harvard Biodesign Lab
https://biodesign.seas.harvard.edu

Related:
Shedding Light on How Humans Walk ... With Robots
https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2017/05/shedding-light-how-humans-walk-robots

Wyss Institute, ReWalk Collaborate on Wearable Exosuits for Limited Mobility
  Patients
https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2016/05/wyss-institute-rewalk-collaborate-wearable-exosuits-limited-mobility-patients