A review of the functionalities of smart walkers

Maria Martins; Cristina Santos; Anselmo Frizera; Ramón Ceres

doi:10.1016/j.medengphy.2015.07.006

A review of the functionalities of smart walkers

Med Eng Phys. 2015 Oct;37(10):917-28. doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2015.07.006. Epub 2015 Aug 22.

Authors

Maria Martins¹, Cristina Santos², Anselmo Frizera³, Ramón Ceres⁴

Affiliations

¹ Industrial Electronics Department, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal. Electronic address: mariam@dei.uminho.pt.
² Industrial Electronics Department, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal. Electronic address: cristina@dei.uminho.pt.
³ Electrical Engineering Department, Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), Av. Fernando Ferrari 514, Vitoria, ES, Brazil. Electronic address: frizera@ieee.org.
⁴ Bioengineering Group, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Crta. Campo Real Km 0.200, Arganda del Rey, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: ceres@iai.csic.es.

PMID: 26307456
DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2015.07.006

Abstract

There is a need to conceptualize and improve the investigation and developments in assistive devices, focusing on the design and effectiveness of walkers in the user's rehabilitation process and functional compensation. This review surveys the importance of smart walkers in maintaining mobility and discusses their potential in rehabilitation and their demands as assistive devices. It also presents related research in addressing and quantifying the smart walker's efficiency and influence on gait. Besides, it discusses smart walkers focusing on studies related to the concept of autonomous and shared-control and manual guidance, the use of smart walkers as personal helpers to sit-to-stand and diagnostic tools for patients' rehabilitation through the evaluation of their gait.

Keywords: Smart walkers.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Computers*
Humans
Movement Disorders / diagnosis
Movement Disorders / rehabilitation
Walkers*