A Framework for Measuring the Progress in Exoskeleton Skills in People with Complete Spinal Cord Injury

The study developed and tested a framework to measure progress in exoskeleton skills for people with spinal cord injury. This framework helps track the ability to perform basic and advanced skills needed for safe exoskeleton use. Twelve participants with paraplegia were trained using the Rewalk exoskeleton over eight weeks. Their skills were assessed using intermediate and final skills tests to measure their progress. The framework uses a hierarchical order of skills, where skills increase in difficulty. This allows for efficient testing and evaluation of exoskeleton skill development during a training program.

• 1
  Participants showed a significant increase in achieved intermediate skills during the training program, demonstrating progress in their ability to use the exoskeleton.
• 2
  The framework's hierarchical order of skills was validated by a high coefficient of reproducibility, indicating that the skills were appropriately ordered by difficulty.
• 3
  The consistency of skill performance was acceptable, suggesting that the framework is reliable for measuring exoskeleton skills.