A novel stairway-handrail rehabilitation system Static and dynamic tests: Quantification of 3D handrail forces

Stair negotiation demands greater muscular strength in challenging for those who have lower limb impairments while climbing stairs. To overcome the challenges on stairs, stair handrail device has been designed for rehabilitation in providing necessary handrail gripping strength for stair negotiation safety in concerns with climbing stability enhanced by a modulation of lower limb reflex. Thus, the purpose of this study was to quantify 3D handrail gripping forces necessary for climbing safety in a newly designed stairway-handrail rehabilitation system. Potential noises of the stairway-handrail system were detected and corrected by a means of implementing static weight loading and dynamic pendulum tests on the handrail as well as dynamic handrail gripping force measurements while subjects negotiated the stairway. The findings suggest that measurements of the stairway handrail forces were quantifiable and validated after the forces were filtered, corrected and examined for the subjects who negotiated the stairway and grasped the handrail of the stairs. Therefore, the current novel design of the instrumented stairway handrail system would be able to rehabilitate the subjects impaired with lower limbs while climbing and negotiating the stairs and to further quantify a critical need of how an assistive handrail affects lower limb biomechanics for a safe stair negotiation.