Design and Development of a Soft Robotic Back Orthosis

Chronic back pain is a disorder which affects a large portion of the American population at some time during their lifespan. There are many causes for lower back pain and usually can be an indicator of a serious medical condition. This problem plagues the nation and the world leading to an estimated annual cost for back pain treatment amounts to $50 billion. This problem isn’t isolated to just the United States either, the world at large suffers from back pain and unfortunately modern treatment methods are effective but the technology simply hasn’t progressed in decades. The main drawback appears to be the rigidity of the device, which limits flexibility and comfort. The soft pneumatic actuators of this newfound device have the potential to provide the appropriate applications chronic back pain suffers and postsurgery patients. In this work, the design and development of a soft robotic back orthotic device that has the capability to relieve back pain by assisting patients to fully achieve the upright position and stabilize the lumbosacral spine, is presented. The soft robotic actuators of this device allow the support to be disabled when the patient is in a supported position. Unlike conventional robotic assistive devices, this pneumatically actuated back orthosis provides dynamic support while being lightweight, comfortable, and cost affordable. After testing the device in a laboratory environment, the data overall displays a trend decreasing in EMG activity of the Erector Spinae muscles. This reduced activity leads to a reduction in strain on the patient. BACKGROUND Lower back pain is a disorder which affects almost 80% of the American population sometime during their life [1, 3]. Approximately 90% of the episodes are resolved within six weeks to three months [3]. As low back pain is usually a symptom of a medical condition, many cases cannot be given a definite diagnosis which renders the condition difficult to treat [4,]. The estimated annual cost for back pain treatment amounts to $50 billion, in the United States alone [6, 7]. Several devices have already been designed for low back pain assistance. The current technology involves a rigid material, usually a plastic or metal piece, surrounded by some padding or fabric to provide stability for the spine. A prime example of a device used today is the Aspen Evergreen LSO. This design uses stiff plating to limit motion of the spine by generating both a lifting and squeezing motion that compresses the body while supporting the spine. This support usually is enough to take the strain off the back and allows the user some relief [4]. the main drawback with these devices are their rigidity, which limits flexibility and comfort. Soft pneumatic actuators have the potential to provide the appropriate applications for low back pain priorand post-surgery rehabilitation purposes. In this paper, the design and development of a soft robotic back orthotic device (Fig. 1) that has the capability to relieve back pain by assisting patients to fully achieve the upright position and stabilize the lumbosacral spine, is presented. Unlike conventional robotic assistive devices, this pneumatically actuated back orthosis provides dynamic support while being light, comfortable and cost affordable. 1 Copyright © 2018 ASME Proceedings of the 2018 Design of Medical Devices Conference DMD2018 April 9-12, 2018, Minneapolis, MN, USA