Article

Rehabilitation professionals have little information concerning lower
limb exoskeletons for people with paraplegia.
This study has four objectives: (1) Outline the characteristics of the exoskeletons' design and their usefulness
evidence as assistive mobility devices in the community for the Rewalk, Mina,
Indego(R), Ekso (previously known as the eLEGS) and Rex(R); (2) document
functional mobility outcomes of using these exoskeletons; (3) document secondary
skills and benefits achieved with these exoskeletons, safety, user satisfaction
and applicability in the community; and (4) establish level of scientific
evidence of the selected studies. METHOD: A systematic review of the literature
(January 2004 to April 2014) was done using the databases PubMed, CINAHL and
Embase and groups of keywords associated with "exoskeleton", "lower limb" and
"paraplegia". RESULTS: Seven articles were selected. Exoskeleton use is effective
for walking in a laboratory but there are no training protocols to modify
identified outcomes over the term usage (ReWalk: 3 months, Mina: 2 months and
Indego(R): 1 session). Levels of evidence of selected papers are low.
CONCLUSIONS: The applicability and effectiveness of lower limb exoskeletons as
assistive devices in the community have not been demonstrated. More research is
needed on walking performance with these exoskeletons compared to other mobility
devices and other training contexts in the community. Implications for
rehabilitation Characteristics of the exoskeletons' design and their usefulness
evidence as assistive mobility devices in the community are addressed for the
Rewalk, Mina, Indego(R), Ekso and Rex(R) ReWalk, Indego(R) and Mina lower limb
exoskeletons are effective for walking in a laboratory for individuals with
complete lower-level SCI. The ReWalk has the best results for walking, with a
maximum speed of 0.51 m/s after 45 sessions lasting 60 to 120 min; it is
comparable to the average speed per day or per week in a manual wheelchair. The
level of scientific evidence is low. Other studies are needed to provide more
information about performance over the longer term when walking with an
exoskeleton, compared to wheelchair mobility, the user's usual locomotion, the
use of different exoskeletons or the training context in which the exoskeleton is
used.

Langue : ANGLAIS