ArticleThe journal of spinal cord medicine2018
Comparison of energy efficiency between Wearable Power-Assist Locomotor (WPAL) and two types of knee-ankle-foot orthoses with a medial single hip joint (MSH-KAFO).
Article in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of the determinants of implementation of a locomotor training program using a powered exoskeleton for individuals with a spinal cord injury.Clinical rehabilitation · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Comparing walking with knee-ankle-foot orthoses and a knee-powered exoskeleton after spinal cord injury: a randomized, crossover clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Lower limb active exoskeletons, exosuits, assistive devices and specifications: a scoping review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Step Timing Change over Time During Wearable Exoskeleton-Assisted Gait Training: A Cross-Sectional Study.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Changes in Distance between a Wearable Robotic Exoskeleton User and Four-Wheeled Walker during Gait in Level and Slope Conditions: Implications for Fall Prevention Systems.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Effects of Lower Limb Orthoses on Health Aspects of the Spinal Cord Injury Patients: A Systematic Review Using International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a Reference Framework.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2022Review
- Wearable Power-Assist Locomotor for Gait Reconstruction in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury: A Retrospective Study.Frontiers in neurorobotics · 2022Article
- Wearable robotic exoskeleton for gait reconstruction in patients with spinal cord injury: A literature review.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2021Review
- Energy Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction of Gait With Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthosis and Robot (ReWalk)-Assisted Gait in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury.Annals of rehabilitation medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the energy efficiency of Wearable Power-Assist Locomotor (WPAL) with conventional knee-ankle-foot orthoses (MSH-KAFO) such as Hip and Ankle Linked Orthosis (HALO) or Primewalk. STUDY
designCross over case-series.
settingChubu Rosai Hospital, Aichi, Japan, which is affiliated with the Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety.
methodsSix patients were trained with MSH-KAFO (either HALO or Primewalk) and WPAL. They underwent 6-minute walk tests with each orthosis. Energy efficiency was estimated using physiological cost index (PCI) as well as heart rate (HR) and modified Borg score. Trial energy efficiency with MSH-KAFO was compared with WPAL to assess if differences in PCI became greater between MSH-KAFO and WPAL as time goes on during the 6-minute walk. Spearman correlation coefficient of time (range: 0.5-6.0 minutes) with the difference was calculated. The same statistical procedures were repeated for HR and modified Borg score.
resultsGreater energy efficiency, representing a lower gait demand, was observed in trials with WPAL compared with MSH-KAFO (Spearman correlation coefficients for PCI, HR and modified Borg were 0.93, 0.90 and 0.97, respectively, all P < 0.0001).
conclusionsWPAL is a practical and energy efficient type of robotics that may be used by patients with paraplegia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.