Exoskeleton as a New Means in Habilitation and Rehabilitation of Invalids (Review)

The problem of development and implementation of exoskeletons has been analyzed on the basis of the Russian and foreign literature. Military Industry and rehabilitation medicine are shown to be currently the priority fields of exoskeleton application. It has been noted, that the majority of the existing exoskeletons cannot be widely used for the rehabilitation of the patients with limited functions of the upper and lower limbs because they are heavy, external power supply-dependent, and expensive. Two types of exoskeletons, active and passive, have been considered. The design of the passive exoskeleton is shown to be most acceptable for use. The analysis has revealed, that the main groups requiring exoskeletons, include patients suffering from paresis of the upper and lower limbs.