Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41690907›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Portable hip exoskeleton improves walking economy for stroke survivors.

Kai Pruyn, Rosemarie Murray, Lukas Gabert, K Bo Foreman, Tommaso Lenzi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. 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
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

  1. Article
  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

5 authors.

Kai PruynDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3805-4202
Rosemarie MurrayDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Lukas GabertDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
K Bo ForemanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Tommaso LenziDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. t.lenzi@utah.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0957-6412

Funding

Center for Selective C-H Functionalization, National Science Foundation 2046287National Science Foundation (NSF) 2139322NIOSH CDC HHS T42 OH008414U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | CDC | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) T32TR004394U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | CDC | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) T42OH008414
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increased metabolic cost of walking after stroke limits mobility and quality of life for millions of individuals. Existing portable assistive devices, primarily targeting the ankle joint, have failed to alleviate this burden. Here, we tested a portable, lightweight hip exoskeleton providing bilateral assistance during walking for individuals with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis. The exoskeleton significantly reduced the net metabolic cost of walking by 18 ± 2% (mean ± standard error, p = 0.0002) in seven participants during treadmill walking-a reduction sufficient to potentially lessen fatigue and extend walking duration- compared to walking without the device. This improvement was associated with a 29 ± 6% reduction in positive biological hip work (p = 0.0052), indicating effective offloading of the hip joints. These results provide the first evidence that portable hip exoskeleton assistance can improve walking economy in stroke survivors, offering a promising therapeutic strategy to enhance real-world mobility and functional recovery in this large clinical population.

Indexed as

Exoskeleton DeviceStrokeStroke RehabilitationWalkingAgedEnergy MetabolismFemaleHipHip JointHumansMaleMiddle AgedParesisSurvivors

Identifiers

PMID41690907
PMCPMC13018189

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.