Prof. HU Xiaoling, Member of Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA) and Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology (RISports) and Associate Professor of Department of Biomedical Engineering, was recently featured on HOY TV’s “Health Concern Group” programme, where she introduced the world’s first multimodal robot for ankle-foot rehabilitation “Mobile Ankle-foot Exoneuromusculoskeleton” developed by her research team. This innovative device effectively assists stroke patients with hemiplegia in improving lower limb motor function and enhances their mobility. Prof. Hu explained that stroke patients often experience varying degrees of mobility impairment, such as foot drop and foot inversion, which can severely impact daily life. She emphasised that traditional ankle-foot orthoses can easily lead to muscle atrophy and do not facilitate the restoration of voluntary muscle function on the affected side. In contrast, the new device incorporates a range of advanced multimodal assistive technologies, including functional electrical stimulation, mechanical assistance provided by artificial muscles, and sensory stimulation. These features support stroke patients in rebuilding ankle-foot function from multiple perspectives, effectively correcting issues such as foot inversion and foot drop. Additionally, through targeted neural stimulation, the device improves sensory and motor functions in weakened muscles and provides vibratory stimulation, enabling patients to independently correct foot inversion. Clinical studies have confirmed that stroke patients who underwent rehabilitation training with the “Mobile Ankle-foot Exoneuromusculoskeleton” for one month, a total of 20 sessions, each lasting one hour, experienced restoration of lower limb function and by nearly 40% in some cases. Improvements in foot drop were even more pronounced, with the angle of dorsiflexion increasing from approximately 5 degrees to 10 degrees. Regarding foot inversion, over 90% of patients experienced significant improvement, demonstrating highly effective results. Online coverage: HOY TV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4y4j4soO0c (07:39 - 11:11)
| Research Units | Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology | Research Institute for Smart Ageing |
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