Study of the Exoskeletons Lifespanin the Intensive Care Units

Abstract The exoskeletons surface as useful devices in alleviating the Intensive Care Units (ICU) medical stuff’s quality of life. A goal of manufacturers and users of exoskeletons is to determine the probability of proper functioning and increase their lifespan. Considering the extremely small number of exoskeletons for which the durations (cycles) of operation are known, in order to be able to make predictions on the characteristics of the average durations of operation, we used the bootstrap method. Through this method, starting from a small number of data collected from the exploitation of exoskeletons, a desired number of data "similar" to real data is obtained. We used the data of 10 exoskeletons of the same type and their operating times with which 2000 replicates were generated. The data were processed using the EasyFit program and the functional probabilities of the exoskeletons were deduced. A pilot study was performed in order to find the usefulness of using a passive or active torso support exoskeleton in the ICU for prone positioning. It demonstrated a lower degree of fatigue in the subjects who used the exoskeletons.