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The Only Way Is Up : Active knee exoskeleton reduces muscular effort in quadriceps during weighted stair ascent

Boon, V.S. (2024) The Only Way Is Up : Active knee exoskeleton reduces muscular effort in quadriceps during weighted stair ascent.

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Full Text Status:Access to this publication is restricted
Embargo date:5 September 2025
Abstract:Firefighters consistently rank stair ascent with gear, which can weigh over 35 kg, as their most demanding activity. Weighted stair climbing requires dynamic motions and large knee torques, which can cause exhaustion in the short term, and overuse injuries in the long term. An active knee exoskeleton could potentially alleviate the burden on the wearer by injecting positive energy at key phases of the gait cycle. Here we show that our knee exoskeletons reduce the net muscular effort in the lower limbs when ascending several flights of stairs while wearing additional weight. We compared lower limb muscle activation required to perform a weighted stair climbing task with and without two bilaterally worn Utah Knee Exoskeletons. We found that bilateral knee assistance reduced average peak quadriceps muscle activation measured through surface electromyography by 32% while reducing overall muscle activity at the quadriceps by 29%. These results suggest that an active knee exoskeleton can lower the overall muscular effort required to ascend stairs while weighted. In turn, this could aid firefighters by preserving energy for fighting fires while also reducing overexertion injuries.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Clients:
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States of America
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:50 technical science in general
Programme:Biomedical Engineering MSc (66226)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/102575
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