Jan F Veneman

• PhD (Doctor)
• Project Manager at Hocoma

Background: Immersive virtual reality has the potential to motivate and challenge patients who need and want to relearn movements in the process of neurorehabilitation. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and user acceptance of an innovative immersive virtual reality system (head-mounted display) used in combination wit...

Effective communication is especially important in the wearable robots (WRs) community, which encloses a great variety of devices across different application domains, e.g., healthcare, occupational, and consumer. In this paper we present a vocabulary of terms with the aim to create a common understanding of terms and concepts among the different f...

Exoskeletons are becoming the reference technology for assistance and augmentation of human motor functions in a wide range of application domains. Unfortunately, the exponential growth of this sector has not been accompanied by a rigorous risk assessment (RA) process, which is necessary to identify the major aspects concerning the safety and impac...

Effective communication is especially important in the wearable robots (WRs) community since it encloses a great variety of devices with applications in several different fields such as healthcare, medical, industrial and military. In this paper we present a Vocabulary of terms that are relevant for diverse stakeholders in the field of WRs. This Vo...

Exoskeletons are a growing technology that is increasingly being studied and researched in various application domains. However, new technologies must fit into current regulations, which update more slowly than market needs. This paper analyses the main regulations and standards in which exoskeletons can fit, underlining the gaps and barriers that...

The development of the lower-limb exoskeleton has been increased over the years, presenting a wide variety of devices that enhance or assist the user. These devices had a design process that followed two principal features that are centered on the user and the device itself. Firstly, the user-centered features are divided into targeted goals focuse...

The science and technology of wearable robots are steadily advancing, and the use of such robots in our everyday life appears to be within reach. Nevertheless, widespread adoption of wearable robots should not be taken for granted, especially since many recent attempts to bring them to real-life applications resulted in mixed outcomes. The aim of t...

Objectives To provide an overview of protocols assessing the effect of occupational exoskeletons on users and to formulate recommendations towards a literature-based assessment framework to benchmark the effect of occupational exoskeletons on the user. Methods PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science database and Scopus were searched (March 2, 2021). Stud...

The large-scale adoption of occupational exoskeletons (OEs) will only happen if clear evidence of effectiveness of the devices is available. Performing product-specific field validation studies would allow the stakeholders and decision-makers (e.g., employers, ergonomists, health, and safety departments) to assess OEs’ effectiveness in their specif...

Wearable robots (WRs) are increasingly moving out of the labs towards real-world applications. In order for WRs to be effectively and widely adopted by end-users, a common benchmarking framework needs to be established. In this article, we outline the perspectives that in our opinion are the main determinants of this endeavour, and exemplify the co...

Objective To explore user-centered design methods currently implemented during development of lower limb wearable robots and how they are utilized during different stages of product development. Background Currently, there appears to be a lack of standardized frameworks for evaluation methods and design requirements to implement effective user-cen...

The main purpose of this study was to identify outcome measures that developers working in the area of wearable robots utilize during different phases of product development. Experts in the field were invited to complete a short, anonymous, online survey. The results presented in this study focus on answers that engineers working on exoskeletons fo...

In EU-funded BALANCE project, developing a stability index which can be employed to estimate actual state of balance of both healthy and neurologically impaired humans' walking in exoskeleton was one of scientific tasks. In the task, Centroidal Momentum (CM), referring to linear and angular momenta at Center of Mass (CoM), has raised as a potential...

Increasingly, robotic devices are used in the field of neurorehabilitation; these so called rehabilitation robots are used to provide motor training and physical therapy. In the context of regulation, these are medical devices, and among others, the standards for Medicial Electrical Equipment apply (the IEC 60601 series of standards). Due to the me...

This paper presents preliminary comparison of CoM and CoP paths between the healthy and stroke patient in walking. The results show that single support with affected leg of stroke patient causes wide stepping of swing leg in lateral direction rather than in forward direction, resulting in an asymmetrical gait pattern.

The main purpose of this study was to identify outcome measures that developers working in the area of wearable robots utilize during different phases of product development. Experts in the field were invited to complete a short, anonymous, online survey. The results presented in this study focus on answers that engineers working on exoskeletons fo...

Wearable robotic systems will assist workers to lift heavy objects, palletize, and perform tasks with less fatigue. The growing field is expanding from military and rehabilitation systems to the industrial and manufacturing workspace. From industry, we are learning that there is a limited pool of younger workers combined with an older, aging workfo...

Reports on the international standards development in the robotics and automation indusry.

Wearable Robots for Mobility (WR-Mob), i.e. exoskeletons, are currently entering the market. This makes the topic of how to define and measure their performance more relevant and urgent. This abstract provides some considerations that could be taken into account when designing quantitative benchmark metrics that aim to quantify the performance of W...

Wearable Robots, i.e. exoskeletons, are currently entering the market. The specific procedure to allow devices on the market, concerning their product safety depends on the application domain they are sold for (medical—industrial—personal care). Safety Standards, such as produced by ISO and IEC are important tools to demonstrate safety for specific...

The objective of this paper is to identify clinical assessments that are potentially useful for benchmarking of bipedal locomotion. Results: Several clinical measures for static conditions and clinical measures for motion are suggested. Conclusions: Potentially useful clinical measures are identified. New metrics coming from new ambulant measuremen...

Clinically useful and efficient assessment of balance during standing and walking is especially challenging in patients with neurological disorders. However, rehabilitation robots could facilitate assessment procedures and improve their clinical value. We present a short overview of balance assessment in clinical practice and in posturography. Base...

This abstract presents the real time computation of Centroidal Momentum (CM) in human walking while addressing its applicability as a stability index to human walking with exoskeleton. To this end, a real time full body motion capture suit solution was employed and it was tested both in steady over ground walking and in walking with tripping events...

Purpose: We present a novel wheelchair posture support device (WPSD) and its clinical validation. The device was developed in order to assure correct sitting posture and to reduce the time spent by caregivers for re-positioning of hospitalized, wheelchair-bound, post-acute stroke patients. Method: The device was validated with 16 subjects during...

Wearable Robots, including those connected Externally over the Lower Limbs (LLEWRs) that are meant to support and augment locomotor functions, are a growing field of research and development. The current State of the Art of such products can be seen as a first generation of devices that is still very limited in application and functionality, but th...

In the field of robotics, there is a growing awareness of the importance of benchmarking [1], [2]. Benchmarking not only allows the assessment and comparison of the performance of different technologies but also defines and supports the standardization and regulation processes during their introduction to the market. Its importance has been recentl...

The invention relates to an element (1) with variable stiffness controlled by negative pressure, comprising: a sealed casing (10); a plurality of flexible layers (30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e) in the casing, each layer (30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e) including a first surface (31, 41) and a second surface (32, 42); and a valve (20) suitable for evacua...

Lower extremity exoskeleton robots have become an established technology, especially in the field of gait rehabilitation training. However, none of the devices available on the market use the exoskeleton itself to support postural balance. On the contrary, all need additional supports as crutches or overhead supports, or need the user perform the b...

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is a technique that artificially stimulates motor nerves in order to restore motor/sensory functions for assistive and therapeutic applications. Recently, multi-field surface electrodes for transcutaneous electrical stimulation have been suggested to overcome problems of single channel surface stimulation. Th...

This paper describes the current work on integrating a haptic force feedback device, named the Universal Haptic Drive (UHD), for upper limb training into a software platform for telerehabilitation which has been developed for at-home rehabilitation after stroke. The aim of the integration is to provide a consistent training and assessment platform...

Currently in neurorehabilitation robotic devices are mostly applied for rehabilitation of the motor functions of the lower and upper extremities. Even if in recent research autonomous and humanoid robots are being used for cognitive rehabilitation, robot medicated therapy predominately supports relearning of motor functions for subjects suffering f...

ArmAssist is a wireless robot for post stroke upper limb rehabilitation. Knowing the position of the arm is essential for any rehabilitation device. In this paper, we describe a method based on an artificial landmark navigation system. The navigation system uses three optical mouse sensors. This enables the building of a cheap but reliable position...

In robotic rehabilitation, the way of attaching the robotic device to the users' limb constitutes a crucial element of product quality, particularly for assuring good fitting, comfort, accuracy, usability, and safety. In this article, we present a new technological concept - 'Variable Stiffness Structure' - allowing for an improvement of these aspe...

Numerous haptic devices have been developed for upper-limb neurorehabilitation, but their widespread use has been largely impeded because of complexity and cost. Here, we describe a variable structure pantograph mechanism combined with a spring suspension system that produces a versatile rehabilitation robot, called Universal Haptic Pantograph, for...

In this paper we present a haptic device developed for neurological rehabilitation of upper limb. The main feature of the device is a variable parallel mechanism. By simple mechanical reconfiguration of joints in parallel mechanism, the device can be used in different operational modes, which enables gradual rehabilitation of upper limb. Device is...

Games possess highly favourable attributes to bring to the field of neurorehabilitation by means of providing motivation and goal-directed exercise tasks. For the use of games to be effectively integrated in the commercial and clinical rehabilitation marketplace, it is necessary that a unified and comprehensive rehabilitation gaming platform be dev...

The Walkaround is a passive hands-free walker that supports the posture during training of walking of hemiplegic individuals via a lumbar belt connected with three elastic suspensors. In this paper the reference 6D-motions of the belt are presented during healthy subjects' gait. The effects of the elastic connections of a subject to the walker on h...

This article discusses the pros and cons of compliant actuation for rehabilitation robots on the example of LOPES, focusing on the cons. After illustrating the bandwidth limitations, a new result has been derived: if stability in terms of passivity of the haptic device is desired, the renderable stiffness is bounded by the stiffness of the SEA's el...

"Assist as needed" control algorithms promote activity of patients during robotic gait training. Implementing these requires a free walking mode of a device, as unassisted motions should not be hindered. The goal of this study was to assess the normality of walking in the free walking mode of the LOPES gait trainer, an 8 degrees-of-freedom lightwei...

In assistive devices for neuro-rehabilitation, natural human motions are partly restricted by the device. This may affect the normality of walking during training. This research determines effects on gait of fixating the pelvis translations in the horizontal plane during treadmill walking. Direct effects on the motion of the pelvis and external for...

This paper introduces a newly developed gait rehabilitation device. The device, called LOPES, combines a freely translatable and 2-D-actuated pelvis segment with a leg exoskeleton containing three actuated rotational joints: two at the hip and one at the knee. The joints are impedance controlled to allow bidirectional mechanical interaction between...

This paper introduces a newly developed gait rehabilitation device. The device, called LOPES, combines a freely translatable and 2-D-actuated pelvis segment with a leg exoskeleton containing three actuated rotational joints: two at the hip and one at the knee. The joints are impedance controlled to allow bidirectional mechanical interaction between...

Robotic gait trainers are used all over the world for the rehabilitation of stroke patients, despite relatively little is known about how the robots should be controlled to achieve the optimal improvement. Most devices control complete joint trajectories and assume symmetry between both legs by either a position or an impedance control. However we...

In the design of exoskeletons for gait rehabilitation, the choice of degrees of freedom (DoFs) is one of the main issues. The goal of this research is to evaluate the effect of availability of additional DoFs related to balance-keeping on the normality of walking. These additional DoFs are the horizontal translations of the pelvis and the frontal r...

Due to aging of the population, growing numbers of people are affected by impairments of their motor system, caused by disorders like stroke. Treatment of stroke patients is very intensive in the amount of training per patient per day. The treatment duration per patient combined with the total number of people suffering from a stroke makes rehabili...

The goal of the work presented in this thesis was to realize a robotic device that is able provide suitable gait training to stroke patients. It is believed that motor training in general, but specifically for stroke patients should be intensive and task-specific in order to reach optimal outcome. Meanwhile, the training of severe stroke patients h...

Within the context of impedance controlled exoskeletons, common actuators have important drawbacks. Either the actuators are heavy, have a complex structure or are poor torque sources, due to gearing or heavy nonlinearity. Considering our application, an impedance controlled gait rehabilitation robot for treadmill-training, we designed an actuation...

We have designed and built a lower extremity powered exo-skeleton (LOPES) for the training of post-stroke patients. This paper describes the philosophy behind the design of LOPES, motivates the choices that have been made and gives some exemplary results of the ranges of mechanical impedances that can be achieved.

Within the context of impedance controlled exoskeletons, common actuators have important drawbacks. Either the actuators are heavy, have a complex structure or are poor torque sources, due to gearing or heavy nonlinearity. Considering our application, an impedance controlled gait rehabilitation robot for treadmill-training, we de- signed an actuati...

LOPES aims for an active role of the patient by selective and partial support of gait functions during robotic treadmill training sessions. Virtual model control (VMC) was applied to the robot as an intuitive method for translating current treadmill gait rehabilitation therapy programs into robotic rehabilitation therapy. Virtual models are propose...

Common actuators have important drawbacks for use in an exoskeleton type of rehabilitation (training) robot. Either the actuators are heavy, complex or poor torque sources. A new actuation system is proposed and tested that combines a lightweight joint and a simple structure with adequate torque source quality. It consists of a servomotor, a flexib...