Evaluating Range of Motion of Two Prominent Neck Support Devices for Daily Activities

Neck muscle weakness causes the inability to raise and move the head, leading to fatigue, neck pain, and a "head-on-chest" posture (dropped head syndrome) in severe cases, which significantly affects quality of life. Static neck collars are the current standard of care. However, these collars are passive, which cannot restore the head-neck movement necessary for daily tasks. Emerging robotic devices like powered neck exoskeletons were developed to enable head-neck movements. Previous laboratory tests showed improved patients' ability to follow prescribed trajectories; however, the ability to assist with daily tasks of such a robotic device remains unknown. In this paper, the functional range of motion allowed by a state-of-the-art powered neck exoskeleton was compared to a clinic-standard static neck collar in healthy adults performing simulated daily tasks wearing these devices. Results showed a greater head range of motion and consequently less compensatory torso movements while wearing the neck exoskeleton in its transparent mode. Participants rated the neck exoskeleton more favorably than the static collar in terms of comfort and ability to perform the tasks. Results also revealed the range of motion limits of the current neck exoskeleton for these daily tasks. These results provided justifications for using neck exoskeletons to restore daily functions and offered critical insights into future refinement of this technology to enable head range of motion for critical daily activities.