Trial reportJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2019
Reducing the energy cost of walking in older adults using a passive hip flexion device.
Trial report in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06041100 (Assessing the Long-term Effects of Wearing a Lower-limb Exoskeleton on Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Pre-frail Adults - a Feasibility Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers.
What it found
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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.
Assessing the Long-term Effects of Wearing a Lower-limb Exoskeleton on Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Pre-frail Adults - a Feasibility Study
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Walking with a Passive Hip Exoskeleton and Wearables: Gait Characteristics and Metabolic Power in Senior Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Trial
- Dynamic stability is tied to gait assistance when walking with a hip exoskeleton.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Motor-free hip exosuit via high-output fibrous dielectric elastomer actuators.Science advances · 2026Article
- Development of Variable Elastic Band with Adjustable Elasticities for Semi-Passive Exosuits.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Kinematic control differs in walking speed adjustment to different velocities.Journal of physical therapy science · 2025Article
- Propulsion without penalty: greater soleus force with stiffer footwear does not necessarily increase estimated soleus metabolic cost across walking speeds.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2025Article
- Effects of Passive Hip Flexion and Extension Assistance in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease and Healthy Individuals.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Elastic textile-based wearable modulation of musculoskeletal load: A comprehensive review of passive exosuits and resistance clothing.Wearable technologies · 2025Review
- Springs vs. motors: Ideal assistance in the lower limbs during walking at different speeds.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Design and Evaluation of a Bilateral Semi-Rigid Exoskeleton to Assist Hip Motion.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Optimizing exoskeleton assistance to improve walking speed and energy economy for older adults.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- ExoBand, A Passive Wearable Device as a Walking Aid in Neuromuscular Patients: First Quantitative Assessment.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2024Article
- Effects of Walking Speed and Added Mass on Hip Joint Quasi-Stiffness in Healthy Young and Middle-Aged Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Opportunities and challenges in the development of exoskeletons for locomotor assistance.Nature biomedical engineering · 2023Review
- Age-related changes in gait biomechanics and their impact on the metabolic cost of walking: Report from a National Institute on Aging workshop.Experimental gerontology · 2023Review
- A Human Lower Limb Mechanical Phantom for the Testing of Knee Exoskeletons.IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2023Article
- Modulating Multiarticular Energy during Human Walking and Running with an Unpowered Exoskeleton.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Biomechanical Effects of Adding an Ankle Soft Actuation in a Unilateral Exoskeleton.Biosensors · 2022Article
- A portable exotendon assisting hip and knee joints reduces muscular burden during walking.Royal Society open science · 2021Article
- Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of a Multi-Joint Exoskeleton with Active-Passive Assistance for Walking.Biosensors · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundElevated energy cost is a hallmark feature of gait in older adults. As such, older adults display a general avoidance of walking which contributes to declining health status and risk of morbidity. Exoskeletons offer a great potential for lowering the energy cost of walking, however their complexity and cost often limit their use. To overcome some of these issues, in the present work we propose a passive wearable assistive device, namely Exoband, that applies a torque to the hip flexors thus reducing the net metabolic power of wearers.
methodsNine participants (age: 62.1 ± 5.6 yr; height: 1.71 ± 0.05 m; weight: 76.3 ± 11.9 kg) walked on a treadmill at a speed of 1.1 m/s with and without the Exoband. Metabolic power was measured by indirect calorimetry and spatio-temporal parameters measured using an optical measurement system. Heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded during data collection to monitor relative intensity of the walking trials.
resultsThe Exoband was able to provide a consistent torque (~ 0.03-0.05 Nm/kg of peak torque) to the wearers. When walking with the Exoband, participants displayed a lower net metabolic power with respect to free walking (- 3.3 ± 3.0%; p = 0.02). There were no differences in spatio-temporal parameters or relative intensities when walking with or without the Exoband.
conclusionsThis study demonstrated that it is possible to reduce metabolic power during walking in older adults with the assistance of a passive device that applies a torque to the hip joint. Wearable, lightweight and low-cost devices such as the Exoband have the potential to make walking less metabolically demanding for older individuals.
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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.