Titel Affiliaties "Korte inhoud" "Draagbaar knie exoskelet voor power training bij ouderen" "Beweging en Voeding voor Gezondheid en Prestatie" "Recente bewijs suggereert dat een krachttrainingsprogramma voor ouderen power training moet bevatten (d.w.z. oefeningen gericht op spiercontracties die zo snel mogelijk worden uitgevoerd). Niet alle ouderen zijn echter in staat om power te trainen (bv. omwille van beperkte mobiliteit). Daarom is het belangrijk om trainingsvormen te identificeren die haalbaar zijn in deze doelgroep. Het uiteindelijke doel van dit project is de ontwikkeling van een gebruiksvriendelijk draagbaar Research Council Regulations | Chapter 5, Article 19 – Centraal Werkingsreglement Onderzoek | approved AB 17.02.2020Research proposal description (clearly add expected outcome): Population aging is a worldwide trend nowadays. According to the World Population Prospectsof the United Nations, the number of older adults (i.e. people aged 65 or older) is projected to grow from an estimated 703 million in 2019 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050 [1]. Hence, by 2050, 1 in 6 people in the world will be over the age of 65 [1].With the present population aging, the problem of age-related loss of physical function and mobility poses serious consequences. A recent literature review has shown that ageing resultsin wide-ranging physical losses, with a decrease in lower limb maximum muscle strength (33%between 25-75 years), muscle power (49% between 25-75 years) and maximal aerobic capacity (40% between 20-80 years) [2]. Along with these physical losses, numerousfunctional losses arise. For example, steps per day decrease by 75% (60-85 years), maximum walking speed decreases by 24% (25–75 years), self-selected walking speed decreases by 21% (20–85 years) and number of falls relative to the number of steps per day increases by 800% [2]. To combat muscle strength loss, muscle mass loss, physiological vulnerability, and their debilitating consequences on physical functioning, mobility and independence, research has demonstrated that resistance training is a powerful intervention [3]. As a result, resistance training has become a cornerstone in the exercise prescription for older adults. Recent evidence suggests that a properly designed resistance training program for older adults should include power-oriented exercises (i.e. concentric muscle contractions performed at maximum velocity) [3, 4]. This is because, as we age, muscle power (the product of force and velocity or force per unit time) declines faster than muscle strength (the ability to produce maximal force) [5], and muscle power is more closely related to physical function than muscle strength [6].Despite its demonstrated value [5], power-oriented resistance training can pose limitations in older adults. For example, the limited mobility of many older adults can constitute a barrier to the regular practice of traditional lower limb exercises. Considering that 24% of older adultsuse mobility aids (e.g., canes, walkers, or wheelchairs) [7], traditional exercises performed while standing unaided may not be realistic for older adults with compromised balance and mobility [3]. On top of that, power-oriented exercises are usually performed with exercise machines, elastic bands or weights [4]. Exercise machines, on the one hand, are expensive, stationary and not configured to exact body size and type. Elastic bands and weights, on the other hand, are cheap and portable, but require careful supervision to ensure that older adults are performing exercises in a safe and correct manner (i.e. full range of motion and maximumknie-exoskelet dat doeltreffender is voor het verhogen van power dan traditionele oefeningsprogramma's. Als eerste essentiële stap naar dit lange-termijn doel zullen we de ZAP startbonus gebruiken om de gebruikerseisen, ergonomische eisen en biomechanische eisen te bestuderen, en deze te verwerken in het ontwerp van een bestaand knie exoskelet dat oorspronkelijk werd ontwikkeld voor het assisteren van wandelen en zit-naar-stand na een beroerte. Voor zover we weten, zou dit het eerste draagbare exoskelet zijn dat ontworpen wordt voor power training van de onderste ledematen bij ouderen"