Ankle Exoskeleton for Stroke Gait Enhancement

The focus of this work is on a proposed novel artificial intelligence (AI) system that self-adapts control policy in powered exoskeletons to aid deployment systems that personalize to individual patient gait. Individuals post-stroke have a broad range of mobility challenges, including asymmetric gait, substantially decreased SSWS, and reduced stability, and therefore have greatly impaired overall mobility independence in the community. The investigators expect the proposed novel controller, capable of personalization to such variable and asymmetric gait patterns, will have significant benefits towards increasing community independence and mobility for patients post stroke. Stroke survivor participants will be fitted with an ankle exoskeleton and proceed to walk on a treadmill or perform various movement tasks. The same tasks will be performed by the participants without wearing the ankle exoskeleton to serve as a baseline. The investigators expect improved outcomes in the powered ankle exoskeleton compared to baseline conditions.