Many robotic exoskeletons for lower limb assistance aid walking by reducing energy costs. However, investigations examining stair-climbing assistance have remained limited, generally evaluating reduced activation of related muscles. This study sought to investigate how climbing assistance by a robotic exoskeleton affects energy consumption. Ten healthy young participants wearing a robotic exoskeleton that assists flexion and extension of hip and knee joints walked up nine flights of stairs twice at a self-selected speed with and without stair-climbing assistance. Metabolic cost was assessed by measuring oxygen consumption, heart rate, and the time to climb each flight of stairs. Net oxygen cost (NOC) and total heart beats (THB) were used as measures of metabolic cost, accounting for different climbing speeds. Stair-climbing assistance reduced NOC and THB by 9.3% () and 6.9% (), respectively, without affecting climbing speed. Despite lack of individual optimization, assistive joint torque applied to the hip and knee joints reduced metabolic cost and cardiovascular burden of stair climbing in healthy young males. These results may be used to improve methods for stair ascent assistance.

中文翻译：

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下肢辅助机器人外骨骼减少了健康年轻人在爬楼梯过程中的能量消耗

许多用于下肢辅助的机器人外骨骼通过降低能源成本来辅助步行。然而，检查爬楼梯辅助的研究仍然很有限，通常评估相关肌肉的激活减少。这项研究试图调查机器人外骨骼的攀爬辅助如何影响能量消耗。十名健康的年轻参与者穿着机器人的外骨骼，有助于髋关节和膝关节的弯曲和伸展，在有和没有爬楼梯辅助的情况下，以自己选择的速度两次走了九段楼梯。通过测量氧气消耗量，心率和每次爬楼梯的时间来评估代谢成本。净氧气成本（NOC）和总心跳（THB）用作代谢成本的量度，说明了不同的攀爬速度。）和6.9％（），而不会影响攀爬速度。尽管缺乏个体优化，但在健康的年轻男性中，向髋和膝关节施加辅助关节扭矩可降低代谢成本和爬楼梯的心血管负担。这些结果可用于改进楼梯上升辅助的方法。