This case study investigated the effects of a novel self-balancing robotic-assisted knee-ankle-foot orthosis (RA-KAFO) on gait function and reducing physical effort in a 52-year-old male with an incomplete lumbar 4-5 spinal cord injury (SCI). The participant underwent gait trials under three conditions: overground walking with crutches, RA-KAFO with crutches, and self-balancing RA-KAFO, across both comfortable and fast walking speeds. Results indicated significant improvements with the self-balancing RA-KAFO, including increased functional ambulation category (FAC) scores, reduced rate of perceived exertion (RPE), faster 10-meter walk test velocities, and normalized knee joint kinematics. These findings demonstrate that the self-balancing RA-KAFO may offer superior gait stability and efficiency compared with conventional orthotic systems, highlighting its potential as an effective intervention in SCI rehabilitation.
Park et al. (Fri,) studied this question.