Assessment of the Interest of the Atalante Device for Patients With Manual Wheelchairs

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The aim of this study was to test the use of the Atalante exoskeleton on 10 patients with complete motor paraplegia (ASIA A and B) with a level of injury between T6 and S1. In this multi-centric clinical trial, patients were asked to perform between 1 and 2 days of training with Atalante exoskeleton including device training and evaluations (up to 9 hours of training and 3 hours of evaluation per patient). The primary objective of this study was to assess patients' ability to walk straight- for 10 meters with the Atalante exoskeleton during 10-meters walk test (10MWT). Within-group differences between the Atalante exoskeleton and the usual walking aid used by the patient in the success rate of the 10MWT were compared by a McNemar test. The secondary objectives focused on performance evaluation with the Atalante exoskeleton. The assessments performed were: Assessment of the superiority of the Atalante exoskeleton compared to the usual aid walking assistance used by the patient on the walking, verticalization (or sit-to-stand), static and dynamic balance ability Assessment of the static and dynamic postural stability of the subject with the Atalante exoskeleton by observation of center of pressure displacement and velocity Assessment of the perceived effort by the patient Assessment of perceived safety by the patient Assessment of the overall satisfaction of patients after using the exoskeleton Comparison of the two types of walk on walking ability, perceived effort, and safety