A Simple Motorized Gait Trainer using Fourbar Mechanism for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition that affects the physical movement of a person, including the ability to walk. Most of CP children have problem in walking, thus requiring frequent, intensive physiotherapy and training to improve their condition. A gait trainer is normally used to train or re-train a person on how to walk. This paper describes the process of designing a simple motorized gait trainer system for CP children between age range of 6 to 12 years old. The system consists of a treadmill, body support rig, wearable leg brace actuated through fourbar mechanism, sensors and electronic control unit. The design and analysis was carried out using Solidworks software. A scale down prototyped was produced as a proof of concept.