Dynamically Removing Partial Body Mass Using Acceleration Feedback for Neural Training

This paper describes a control strategy for an active body suspension system for treadmill based neural rehabilitation or training devices. Using an acceleration feedback, the system behaves like dynamically removing part or all of the body mass of the trainee so that he/she will truly feel like having a reduced mass while being trained for walking, jogging, or other leg activities on a treadmill. It will be shown that the proposed controller can compensate any amount of inertia force which would not be present as if the trainee had a real reduced mass. As a result, the dynamic load on the trainee's body as well as the supporting legs during an exercise will also be reduced correspondingly. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the benefits of the actively controlled body suspension system.