Volunteer Lin Han is skillfully manipulating exoskeleton robots. Photo by Wang Liwen
Chengdu, March 23 (Wang Liwen) On March 23, at the Robotics Research Center of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu, Sichuan, volunteer Lin Han is skillfully controlling exoskeleton robots. With the help of the equipment, he independently completed forward, steering and other movements, and this walking exercise has become his daily rehabilitation after paraplegia. Lin Han expects that with the advancement of medicine and science and technology, he will be able to walk freely like "Iron Man" in the future.
An exoskeleton robot is a rehabilitation medicine device that helps patients stand and walk again through interactive control, anthropomorphic gait and high-precision motor control algorithms. In 2010, Professor Cheng Hong of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China set up a scientific research team to develop exoskeleton robots from scratch. At present, exoskeleton robots have been successfully developed for five generations, which can realize paraplegic walking, hemiplegic rehabilitation, and children's rehabilitation through brain-computer control, myoelectric control, gravity induction control, etc., and patients can be applied to scenarios such as going up and down stairs, going up and down slope, controlling direction, and crossing obstacles.
Volunteer Lin Han is wearing an exoskeleton robot. Photo by Wang Liwen
Long-term bed or sitting in paraplegic patients is prone to complications such as bedsores, urinary tract infections, osteoporosis, and venous thrombosis. At the end of 2013, after Lin Han was paraplegic in bed, he needed help to turn over every two hours. In the process of rehabilitation, he became acquainted with Cheng Hong's team and became an exoskeleton robot wearing experiment volunteer in 2015. After practice, Lin Han was not only able to complete daily travel and cooking alone, but also learned skills such as driving. At the 9th National Para Games and the 6th Special Olympics in 2015, he wore an exoskeleton robot as a torchbearer and completed the torch relay step by step.
Clinical feedback is of great significance to product development, which is why Lin Han insists on volunteering. "The exoskeleton robot has changed my life, and I hope that my feedback can bring convenience to more patients." Over the years, Lin Han has witnessed the update and iteration of exoskeleton robots. He recalls that when it was first worn, the device was only for paraplegic patients from the waist and below, and now he has developed a brain-controlled exoskeleton robot that can even help high-profile paraplegic patients stand up.
Professor Cheng Hong (second from left) from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China discusses the wearing comfort of exoskeleton robots. Photo by Wang Liwen
"The greatest sense of achievement and happiness in being an exoskeleton robot is to see patients stand up and live happily." Cheng Hong believes that the meaning of helping patients stand up is not only to restore physical health, but also to change the situation where patients can only sit in wheelchairs and look up to others.
It is reported that an imported exoskeleton robot costs as much as 3 million to 5 million yuan, and maintenance often takes months and costs hundreds of thousands of yuan. Today, the price of the exoskeleton robot independently developed by Cheng Hong's team is about 1 million yuan, and the price of the home version is less than 200,000 yuan, "which is almost impossible to achieve internationally."
Reducing costs through localization is only the first step in getting more patients to use exoskeleton robots. In order to transform this scientific and technological achievement and help more patients "stand", the Robotics Research Center of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China has cooperated with a number of hospitals. At present, more than 100 hospitals have applied exoskeleton robots, and tens of thousands of patients have carried out clinical trials of exoskeleton robots.
In 2010, Professor Cheng Hong of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China set up a scientific research team to develop exoskeleton robots from scratch. Photo by Wang Liwen
Cheng Hong pointed out that at the system level, China's exoskeleton robots have reached the international level, and even led in single technologies such as human-computer intelligence and human-computer interaction. In addition, the exoskeleton robot developed in China is also leading the application scenarios, not only for paraplegic and hemiplegic patients, but also used in fire rescue and other fields.
For the research and development of the sixth generation exoskeleton robot, Cheng Hong's team has a further direction. "We are working hard to expand the application scenarios so that patients can walk without being constrained by the terrain and even move in the wild. In addition, rigid exoskeleton robots will be deeply combined with flexible robot technology to strengthen human-computer interaction, improve patients' wearing comfort, and truly realize 'human-machine dance' in the future." Cheng Hong said. (End)