退化性骨關節炎是老年人口中最常見的退化性疾病之一,尤其發生在膝關節者,造成日常生活中步行移動上的極大困擾。其主要原因之一,是膝關節軟組織修復與增生速度趕不及磨耗、導致膝部硬質骨之接觸摩擦而疼痛,台灣地區罹患嚴重等級退化性關節炎的患者,有近九成者未接受膝關節置換手術,而低風險、副作用少的醫療輔具可成為病患的替代性考量,近年來台灣的醫療器材產業發產迅速,醫療輔具也更加科技與多樣化,許多醫療輔具的開發需要通過人體試驗的階段,才能得知實驗數據,但是人體試驗的過程需要消耗許多時間、人力及金錢。 本研究提出一種仿生膝關節工程測試系統,透過一彷似人體膝關節機械構造之機構,模擬人體蹲至站的動作,透過LabVIEW程式控制介面,控制測試平台之軌跡,進行位移速度及力量迴授量測記錄,並推估擬股四頭肌之張力、擬膝關節之骨骼相互壓力、磨耗等數據。未來某些移行用輔具在進行昂貴且複雜之人體試驗之前,即可架設於此工程測試系統進行工程性測試,迅速取得工程端數據結果。由於真實人體結構複雜且持續變異,利用本研究工程性測試所獲資料,雖無法完全取代人體試驗結果,但在醫療輔具的開發上,可快速取得工程性或功能性結果,預期仍可在醫療輔具研發過程中節省許多資源。
Osteoarthritis (OA) is an important disease among elders, affecting a considerable part of these people. Knee OA (KOA) causes a major problem in a patient’s daily life since it enormously defects the mobility through pains in the knee joint during walking. About ninety percent of severe KOA patients do not follow doctors’ suggestions, taking the knee replacement surgery, in Taiwan. Patients would like to consider other non-invasive solutions against surgeries. Lower extremity bracing technology, e.g., the knee brace, is a possible solution to this problem. However for a new bracing technology, it needs a clinical trial to proof its effectiveness and safety before its commercialization, a resource-consuming process. This study proposes an Engineering Test System for Knee Brace, simulating human knee motion from squat to stand by applying various commands from LabVIEW software through DAQ cards. This system gathers information including positions, velocities and forces during dynamic motions, and further estimates quadriceps tensions, contact forces and wears between femur and tibia. This research does not intent to replace the reality or contribution of clinical trials over engineering tests. Nevertheless, by taking advantages of this system, researchers may have a chance to significantly reduce their time and efforts to collect engineering data from some prototypes of knee braces or other orthoses.