PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Abdikadirova, Banu
AU  - Price, Mark
AU  - Jaramillo, Jonaz Moreno
AU  - Hoogkamer, Wouter
AU  - Huber, Meghan E.
TI  - Bilateral asymmetric hip stiffness applied by a robotic hip exoskeleton elicits kinematic and kinetic adaptation
AID  - 10.1101/2023.02.06.527337
DP  - 2023 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2023.02.06.527337
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/02/06/2023.02.06.527337.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/02/06/2023.02.06.527337.full
AB  - Wearable robotic exoskeletons hold great promise for gait rehabilitation as portable, accessible tools. However, a better understanding of the potential for exoskeletons to elicit neural adaptation—a critical component of neurological gait rehabilitation—is needed. In this study, we investigated whether humans adapt to bilateral asymmetric stiffness perturbations applied by a hip exoskeleton, taking inspiration from asymmetry augmentation strategies used in split-belt treadmill training. During walking, we applied torques about the hip joints to repel the thigh away from a neutral position on the left side and attract the thigh toward a neutral position on the right side. Six participants performed an adaptation walking trial on a treadmill while wearing the exoskeleton. The exoskeleton elicited time-varying changes and aftereffects in step length and propulsive/braking ground reaction forces, indicating behavioral signatures of neural adaptation. These responses resemble typical responses to split-belt treadmill training, suggesting that the proposed intervention with a robotic hip exoskeleton may be an effective approach to (re)training symmetric gait.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.