Homepage for UWB Portal News

Correct movement, brain activity monitoring, design and 3D printing. Experts from the University of West Bohemia (UWB) have developed a rehabilitation aid for an injured or surgically repaired knee entirely from scratch. A motor added by their research colleagues from Deggendorf, Germany, assists with bending and extending the knee and allows precise adjustment of the range of motion. The device can be used while standing, sitting or lying down. According to the researchers, the ability to provide controlled passive movement in different positions was one of the shortcomings of current rehabilitation care.

“Our goal is to combine modern technologies with the needs of patients and therapists. A major benefit is the ability to precisely control the range of motion while also reducing the strain on the patient during exercise,” said Rita Firýtová from the Department of Rehabilitation Studies at the UWB Faculty of Health Care Studies. The device also includes a system that monitors the patient’s brain activity and concentration during movement. “Using EEG, we monitor how brain activity changes during exercise and whether the patient is concentrating on the movement being performed. In addition to mechanical support for the knee, we are also providing information about the involvement of the nervous system, which could, in the future, help us better tailor exercises to individual patients,” explained Roman Mouček from the UWB Faculty of Applied Sciences.

In addition to the two faculties mentioned above, the development team at UWB also included the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, which developed the support mechanism and 3D-printed it, and the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, which designed its functional form. “One of the challenges was to correctly adjust the load on the exoskeleton according to the patient’s weight and to design the shapes of the individual components so that they could be printed effectively using a 3D printer,” explained Karel Ráž from the UWB Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, describing the technological challenges involved in manufacturing the device.

The device is currently at the stage of a functional prototype, which has been tested on 15 healthy volunteers, including physiotherapists from UWB and healthcare professionals from the spa in Bad Kötzting. It will only be used with actual patients after certification. “Even at this prototype stage, it is clear that the project has the potential for further development and practical application. We are currently looking for partners who would work with us on further development and potential use in practice. We believe we have something to offer manufacturers of medical devices and assistive technologies,” concluded Tomáš Chochole from the UWB Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art.