Powered orthosis

A system for training a user to move a portion of the user's body in a desired trajectory, the system comprising

• a powered orthosis adapted to be secured to a corresponding body portion of a user for guiding motion of the user, the orthosis comprising:
• a plurality of structural members;
• and
• one or more joints adjoining adjacent structural members, each joint having one or more degrees of freedom and a range of joint angles, one or more of the joints comprising:
• at least one back-drivable actuator governed by at least one joint actuator controller for controlling the joint angle, the one or more joint actuator controllers comprising force-field controllers that define a virtual tunnel for movement of the orthosis, the force-field controllers synchronized to cause the corresponding joint actuators to generate forces for assisting the user to move the orthosis at least in part under the user's power along a desired trajectory within an allowed tolerance;
• and
• a visual display configured to provide real-time visual feedback to the user showing a relationship between the desired trajectory and an actual trajectory followed by the orthosis in response to movement by the user.

A method for training a user to move a portion of the user's body in a desired trajectory, the method comprising:

• (a) securing the user to an orthosis comprising a plurality of exoskeletal members and a plurality of joints each having one or more degrees of freedom and a spectrum of joint angles between adjacent members connected at the joint, a plurality of the joints each comprising at least one backdrivable actuator governed by a controller for controlling the joint angle, the plurality of joint controllers synchronized with one another;
• (b) causing the synchronized joint controllers to operate the corresponding actuators to generate forces for assisting the user to move the orthosis at least in part under the user's power along a desired trajectory within an allowed tolerance;
• and
• (c) providing visual feedback to the user that shows a relationship between the desired trajectory and an actual trajectory followed by the orthosis in response to movement by the user.

A method for training a healthy user to adopt a desired trajectory for a body motion, the method comprising:

• (a) securing the user to an orthosis comprising a plurality of exoskeletal members and a plurality of joints each having one or more degrees of freedom and a spectrum of joint angles between adjacent members connected at the joint, a plurality of the joints each comprising at least one back-drivable actuator governed by a controller for controlling the joint angle, the plurality of joint controllers synchronized with one another;
• (b) causing the synchronized joint controllers to operate the corresponding actuators to generate forces for assisting the user to move the orthosis at least in part under the user's power along the desired trajectory within an allowed tolerance;
• and
• (c) providing visual feedback to the user that shows a relationship between the desired trajectory and an actual trajectory followed by the orthosis in response to movement by the user.