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Actuators
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Biomechanics, Actuation, and Control Strategies of Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Exoskeletons
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Biomechanics, Actuation, and Control Strategies of Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Exoskeletons

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuators for Medical Instruments".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 2706

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mahdy Eslamy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, School of Computing Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: mechanical design; robotics; control; FEA and bone fracture analysis
Dr. Geetika Aggarwal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, School of Computing Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: automation; sustainable systems; smart systems; artificial intelligence (AI); digitalization in industry; augmented and virtual reality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jinoop Arackal Narayanan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, School of Computing Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: additive manufacturing; metal additive manufacturing; material characterization; surface treatments; laser material processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Actuators, a paragon of scholarly excellence in biomechanics, human gait analysis, and assistive technologies, is pleased to announce a call for papers for our esteemed Special Issue on "Biomechanics, Actuation, and Control Strategies of Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Exoskeletons." Recognized for its unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge and fostering innovation, Actuators invites distinguished scholars, researchers, and practitioners to contribute their cutting-edge research and insights to this seminal discourse.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the multifaceted aspects of biomechanics, actuation, and control strategies in the domain of prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeletons. We invite submissions that elucidate novel methodologies, advancements in materials and technologies, clinical applications, and theoretical frameworks pertaining to the design, development, and optimization of assistive devices.

Authors are encouraged to submit original research articles, reviews, case studies, and perspectives that push the boundaries of current understanding and offer transformative contributions to the field. Each submission will undergo a rigorous peer-review process conducted by renowned experts in the field, ensuring the highest standards of academic rigor and relevance to this Special Issue’s theme.

Join us in shaping the future of assistive technology and enhancing the quality of life for individuals with mobility impairments through groundbreaking research and innovation. Submit your manuscript today and become a part of this prestigious scholarly endeavor.

Dr. Mahdy Eslamy
Dr. Geetika Aggarwal
Dr. Jinoop Arackal Narayanan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomechanics
  • actuation
  • control strategies
  • prosthetics
  • orthotics
  • exoskeletons
  • assistive devices
  • rehabilitation engineering
  • human–machine interaction
  • wearable robotics
  • bio-inspired robotics
  • gait analysis
  • neural interfaces
  • muscle synergies
  • kinematics and dynamics
  • rehabilitation robotics
  • human motor control
  • sensor technologies
  • artificial intelligence
  • wearable sensors
  • biomedical engineering
  • human–computer interaction
  • haptic feedback
  • electromyography (EMG)
  • assistive technology
  • lower limb prosthetics
  • upper limb prosthetics
  • neuromuscular control
  • assistive robotics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 8083 KiB  
Article
Changes of Ankle Motion and Ground Reaction Force Using Elastic Neutral AFO in Neurological Patients with Inverted Foot During Gait
by Du-Jin Park and Young-In Hwang
Actuators 2024, 13(12), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/act13120526 - 20 Dec 2024
Abstract
Many stroke patients develop ankle deformities due to neurological or non-neurological factors, resulting in abnormal gait patterns. While Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are commonly used to address these issues, few are specifically designed for ankle varus. The Elastic Neutral Ankle-Foot Orthosis (EN-AFO) was developed [...] Read more.
Many stroke patients develop ankle deformities due to neurological or non-neurological factors, resulting in abnormal gait patterns. While Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are commonly used to address these issues, few are specifically designed for ankle varus. The Elastic Neutral Ankle-Foot Orthosis (EN-AFO) was developed for this purpose. This study aimed to analyze changes in kinematic and kinetic gait data in stroke patients with ankle varus, comparing those walking with and without EN-AFO in both AFO and No-AFO groups. Initially, 30 stroke patients with ankle varus were screened; after exclusions, 17 were included in the final analysis. In the No-AFO group, EN-AFO significantly improved maximal ankle inversion on the affected side during the swing phase (from 4.63 ± 13.26 to 10.56 ± 11.40, p = 0.025). Similarly, in the AFO group, EN-AFO led to a significant improvement in maximal ankle inversion on the less-affected side during the swing phase (from 7.95 ± 10.11 to 12.01 ± 8.64, p = 0.021). Additionally, ground reaction forces on the affected side of the AFO group significantly increased at both the forefoot (from 182.76 ± 61.45 to 211.55 ± 70.57, p = 0.038) and hindfoot (from 210.67 ± 107.88 to 231.85 ± 105.38, p = 0.038) with EN-AFO. Conversely, maximal and minimal thoracic axial rotation on the affected side improved significantly in the No-AFO group compared to the AFO group with EN-AFO, during both the stance and swing phases (stance phase: max improvement from −1.13 ± 1.80 to 4.83 ± 8.05, min improvement from −1.06 ± 2.45 to 5.89 ± 7.56; swing phase: max improvement from −1.33 ± 2.13 to 5.49 ± 7.82, min improvement from −1.24 ± 2.43 to 5.95 ± 7.12; max p = 0.034, min p = 0.016 during stance; max p = 0.027, min p = 0.012 during swing). Furthermore, both maximal and minimal thoracic axial rotation on the less-affected side during the swing phase improved significantly in the No-AFO group (max improvement from −2.09 ± 4.18 to 6.04 ± 6.90, min improvement from −0.47 ± 2.13 to 8.18 ± 10.45; max p = 0.027, min p = 0.012) compared with the AFO group. These findings suggest that EN-AFO may effectively improve gait in stroke patients with ankle varus in the No-AFO group. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomechanics, Actuation, and Control Strategies of Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Exoskeletons)
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15 pages, 1261 KiB  
Article
Movement Intent Detection for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Based on Series Elastic Actuator as Force Sensor
by Yukio Rosales-Luengas, Daniel Centeno-Barreda, Sergio Salazar, Jonathan Flores and Rogelio Lozano
Actuators 2024, 13(8), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/act13080284 - 27 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1432
Abstract
In this paper, serial elastic actuators (SEAs) in conjunction with an accelerometer are proposed as force sensors to detect the intention of movement, and the SEA is proposed as a gentle actuator of a patient’s upper-limb exoskeleton. A smooth trajectory is proposed to [...] Read more.
In this paper, serial elastic actuators (SEAs) in conjunction with an accelerometer are proposed as force sensors to detect the intention of movement, and the SEA is proposed as a gentle actuator of a patient’s upper-limb exoskeleton. A smooth trajectory is proposed to provide comfortable performance. There is an offset trajectory between the link and the motor, which increases safety by preventing sudden movements, and the offset is equivalent to the torsional elastic spring constant. The proposed control law is based on a backstepping approach tested in real-time experiments with robust results in a 2-DoF upper-limb rehabilitation exoskeleton. The experimental results showed a sensitivity of 100% and a positive predictive value of 97.5% for movement intention detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomechanics, Actuation, and Control Strategies of Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Exoskeletons)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Changes of ankle motion and ground reaction force using Elastic Neutral AFO in neurological patients with inverted foot during gait
Authors: Du-Jin Park; Young-In Hwang
Affiliation: Associate Professor
Abstract: Many stroke patients develop ankle deformities due to neurological or non-neurological factors, resulting in abnormal gait patterns. While Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are commonly used to address these issues, few are specifically designed for ankle varus. The Elastic Neutral Ankle-Foot Orthosis (EN-AFO) was developed for this purpose. This study aimed to analyze changes in kinematic and kinetic gait data in stroke patients with ankle varus, comparing those walking with and without EN-AFO in both AFO and No-AFO groups. Initially, 30 stroke patients with ankle varus were screened; after exclusions, 17 were included in the final analysis. In the No-AFO group, EN-AFO significantly improved maximal ankle inversion on the affected side during the swing phase (p < 0.05). In the AFO group, EN-AFO led to significant improvement in maximal ankle inversion on the less-affected side during the swing phase (p < 0.05). Ground reaction force on the affected side of the AFO group significantly increased at both the forefoot and hindfoot with EN-AFO (p < 0.05). Conversely, maximal and minimal thoracic axial rotation on the affected side improved significantly in the No-AFO group compared to the AFO group with EN-AFO during both the stance and swing phases (p < 0.05). Additionally, maximal and minimal thoracic axial rotation on the less-affected side during the swing phase improved significantly in the No-AFO group. These findings suggest that EN-AFO may effectively improve gait in stroke patients with ankle varus in the No-AFO group.

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