Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation

Jinglin Zhou; Changjiang Lei; Haolan Xian; Yuanwen Zhang; Chenglong Fu; Yuquan Leng

doi:10.1007/978-981-95-2098-5_22

Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation

Jinglin Zhou
, Changjiang Lei
, Haolan Xian
, Yuanwen Zhang
, Chenglong Fu
, Yuquan Leng^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Southern University of Science and Technology
School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

Stroke often causes motor dysfunction of the knee joint. Existing rehabilitation equipment lacks customization, limiting training effectiveness. This paper presents a soft pneumatic exosuit (SPE) designed to provide effective and comfortable daily knee rehabilitation training for stroke patients. The SPE features a wearable sleeve with anterior and posterior airbag drive units (AP-ADU) for bidirectional actuation. Weighing only 210 g, it is lightweight and compliant. A multi-bag array structure improves actuation performance. Each airbag is made of a double-layer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) laminated to a mesh fabric composite and curved to better fit the lower extremity. Finite element analysis (FEA) was first used to assess structural performance. Subsequently, the SPE was verified by surface electromyography (sEMG) experiments. The results showed that root mean square (RMS) peak values of the target muscle groups activation respectively decreased by 20.7%, 6.5%, and 12.7% during knee extension, flexion, and squatting, demonstrating the effectiveness of the exosuit and the potential for rehabilitation.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Intelligent Robotics and Applications - 18th International Conference, ICIRA 2025, Proceedings
Editors	Takayuki Matsuno, Honghai Liu, Lianqing Liu, Zhouping Yin, Xiangyang Zhu, Weihong Ren, Zhiyong Wang, Yixuan Sheng
Publisher	Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages	255-265
Number of pages	11
ISBN (Print)	9789819520978
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-2098-5_22
State	Published - 2026
Externally published	Yes
Event	18th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2025 - Okayama, Japan Duration: 6 Aug 2025 → 9 Aug 2025

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Volume	16075 LNCS
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	18th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2025
Country/Territory	Japan
City	Okayama
Period	6/08/25 → 9/08/25

Keywords

Knee exoskeleton
Pneumatic drive
Soft exosuit
Stroke rehabilitation

Access to Document

10.1007/978-981-95-2098-5_22

Cite this

Zhou, J., Lei, C., Xian, H., Zhang, Y., Fu, C., & Leng, Y. (2026). Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation. In T. Matsuno, H. Liu, L. Liu, Z. Yin, X. Zhu, W. Ren, Z. Wang, & Y. Sheng (Eds.), Intelligent Robotics and Applications - 18th International Conference, ICIRA 2025, Proceedings (pp. 255-265). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 16075 LNCS). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-2098-5_22

Zhou, Jinglin ; Lei, Changjiang ; Xian, Haolan et al. / Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation. Intelligent Robotics and Applications - 18th International Conference, ICIRA 2025, Proceedings. editor / Takayuki Matsuno ; Honghai Liu ; Lianqing Liu ; Zhouping Yin ; Xiangyang Zhu ; Weihong Ren ; Zhiyong Wang ; Yixuan Sheng. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026. pp. 255-265 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science).

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title = "Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation",

abstract = "Stroke often causes motor dysfunction of the knee joint. Existing rehabilitation equipment lacks customization, limiting training effectiveness. This paper presents a soft pneumatic exosuit (SPE) designed to provide effective and comfortable daily knee rehabilitation training for stroke patients. The SPE features a wearable sleeve with anterior and posterior airbag drive units (AP-ADU) for bidirectional actuation. Weighing only 210 g, it is lightweight and compliant. A multi-bag array structure improves actuation performance. Each airbag is made of a double-layer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) laminated to a mesh fabric composite and curved to better fit the lower extremity. Finite element analysis (FEA) was first used to assess structural performance. Subsequently, the SPE was verified by surface electromyography (sEMG) experiments. The results showed that root mean square (RMS) peak values of the target muscle groups activation respectively decreased by 20.7\%, 6.5\%, and 12.7\% during knee extension, flexion, and squatting, demonstrating the effectiveness of the exosuit and the potential for rehabilitation.",

keywords = "Knee exoskeleton, Pneumatic drive, Soft exosuit, Stroke rehabilitation",

author = "Jinglin Zhou and Changjiang Lei and Haolan Xian and Yuanwen Zhang and Chenglong Fu and Yuquan Leng",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2026.; 18th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2025 ; Conference date: 06-08-2025 Through 09-08-2025",

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Zhou, J, Lei, C, Xian, H, Zhang, Y, Fu, C & Leng, Y 2026, Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation. in T Matsuno, H Liu, L Liu, Z Yin, X Zhu, W Ren, Z Wang & Y Sheng (eds), Intelligent Robotics and Applications - 18th International Conference, ICIRA 2025, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 16075 LNCS, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, pp. 255-265, 18th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2025, Okayama, Japan, 6/08/25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-2098-5_22

Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation. / Zhou, Jinglin; Lei, Changjiang; Xian, Haolan et al.
Intelligent Robotics and Applications - 18th International Conference, ICIRA 2025, Proceedings. ed. / Takayuki Matsuno; Honghai Liu; Lianqing Liu; Zhouping Yin; Xiangyang Zhu; Weihong Ren; Zhiyong Wang; Yixuan Sheng. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026. p. 255-265 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 16075 LNCS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Zhou, Jinglin

AU - Lei, Changjiang

AU - Xian, Haolan

AU - Zhang, Yuanwen

AU - Fu, Chenglong

AU - Leng, Yuquan

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2026.

PY - 2026

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N2 - Stroke often causes motor dysfunction of the knee joint. Existing rehabilitation equipment lacks customization, limiting training effectiveness. This paper presents a soft pneumatic exosuit (SPE) designed to provide effective and comfortable daily knee rehabilitation training for stroke patients. The SPE features a wearable sleeve with anterior and posterior airbag drive units (AP-ADU) for bidirectional actuation. Weighing only 210 g, it is lightweight and compliant. A multi-bag array structure improves actuation performance. Each airbag is made of a double-layer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) laminated to a mesh fabric composite and curved to better fit the lower extremity. Finite element analysis (FEA) was first used to assess structural performance. Subsequently, the SPE was verified by surface electromyography (sEMG) experiments. The results showed that root mean square (RMS) peak values of the target muscle groups activation respectively decreased by 20.7%, 6.5%, and 12.7% during knee extension, flexion, and squatting, demonstrating the effectiveness of the exosuit and the potential for rehabilitation.

AB - Stroke often causes motor dysfunction of the knee joint. Existing rehabilitation equipment lacks customization, limiting training effectiveness. This paper presents a soft pneumatic exosuit (SPE) designed to provide effective and comfortable daily knee rehabilitation training for stroke patients. The SPE features a wearable sleeve with anterior and posterior airbag drive units (AP-ADU) for bidirectional actuation. Weighing only 210 g, it is lightweight and compliant. A multi-bag array structure improves actuation performance. Each airbag is made of a double-layer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) laminated to a mesh fabric composite and curved to better fit the lower extremity. Finite element analysis (FEA) was first used to assess structural performance. Subsequently, the SPE was verified by surface electromyography (sEMG) experiments. The results showed that root mean square (RMS) peak values of the target muscle groups activation respectively decreased by 20.7%, 6.5%, and 12.7% during knee extension, flexion, and squatting, demonstrating the effectiveness of the exosuit and the potential for rehabilitation.

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Zhou J, Lei C, Xian H, Zhang Y, Fu C, Leng Y. Design of a Soft Pneumatic Exosuit for Stroke-Induced Knee Rehabilitation. In Matsuno T, Liu H, Liu L, Yin Z, Zhu X, Ren W, Wang Z, Sheng Y, editors, Intelligent Robotics and Applications - 18th International Conference, ICIRA 2025, Proceedings. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. 2026. p. 255-265. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). doi: 10.1007/978-981-95-2098-5_22