Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37837159›Full record

ArticleSensors (Basel, Switzerland)2023

A Smart, Textile-Driven, Soft Exosuit for Spinal Assistance.

Kefan Zhu, Phuoc Thien Phan, Bibhu Sharma, James Davies, Mai Thanh Thai, Trung Thien Hoang, Chi Cong Nguyen, Adrienne Ji, Emanuele Nicotra, Hung Manh La and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Resistive Soft Robotic Exosuit for Dynamic Body Loading in Hypogravity.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Trial
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Kefan ZhuGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Phuoc Thien PhanGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Bibhu SharmaGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
James DaviesGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Mai Thanh ThaiGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9930-5493
Trung Thien HoangGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Chi Cong NguyenGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8113-5163
Adrienne JiGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Emanuele NicotraGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Hung Manh LaAdvanced Robotics and Automation Lab, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89512, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2183-2634
Tat Thang Vo-DoanSchool of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5065-5887
Hoang-Phuong PhanSchool of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1724-5667
Nigel H LovellGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1637-1079
Thanh Nho DoGraduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4980-5251
UNSW Sydney · AUThe University of Queensland · AUUniversity of Nevada, Reno · US

Funding

UNSW Scientia Fellowship PS46197UNSW Start-up Grant PS58173
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are often caused by repetitive lifting, making them a significant concern in occupational health. Although wearable assist devices have become the norm for mitigating the risk of back pain, most spinal assist devices still possess a partially rigid structure that impacts the user's comfort and flexibility. This paper addresses this issue by presenting a smart textile-actuated spine assistance robotic exosuit (SARE), which can conform to the back seamlessly without impeding the user's movement and is incredibly lightweight. To detect strain on the spine and to control the smart textile automatically, a soft knitting sensor that utilizes fluid pressure as a sensing element is used. Based on the soft knitting hydraulic sensor, the robotic exosuit can also feature the ability of monitoring and rectifying human posture. The SARE is validated experimentally with human subjects (N = 4). Through wearing the SARE in stoop lifting, the peak electromyography (EMG) signals of the lumbar erector spinae are reduced by 22.8% ± 12 for lifting 5 kg weights and 27.1% ± 14 in empty-handed conditions. Moreover, the integrated EMG decreased by 34.7% ± 11.8 for lifting 5 kg weights and 36% ± 13.3 in empty-handed conditions. In summary, the artificial muscle wearable device represents an anatomical solution to reduce the risk of muscle strain, metabolic energy cost and back pain associated with repetitive lifting tasks.

Indexed as

MovementPostureBack PainBiomechanical PhenomenaElectromyographyHumansLiftingSpineartificial musclesmart textilesoft exosuitspinal assistancewearable device

Identifiers

PMID37837159
PMCPMC10575006
OpenAlexW4387453856

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.