Post-stroke individual preferences for lower limb rehabilitation exoskeletons

Post-stroke individual preferences for lower limb rehabilitation exoskeletons | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Post-stroke individual preferences for lower limb rehabilitation exoskeletons Koffi Adzinyo AGBEMANYOLE, Mathieu LE STUM, Stéphanie LEPLAIDEUR, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8620015/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A Discrete Choice Experiment assessed the preferences of 58 adults post-stroke recruited from two rehabilitation centers in Brittany, France. The sample comprised mostly men, aged 25–80, with ~ 50% over 65. Descriptive analyses used all 58 participants; five failed an internal validity check and were excluded from modeling, leaving 53 for preference estimation. Each respondent completed eight choice tasks comparing two device configurations. Conditional and mixed logit models estimated preference weights and willingness-to-pay (WTP). More than 90% of participants self-reported fair or good health status, and 78% expressed willingness to pay a monthly fee for a rehabilitation device. The conditional logit model fit was acceptable (Likelihood Ratio χ²=93.97, p < 0.001; pseudo-R²=0.17). Cost was a significant deterrent (β = −0.027; p < 0.001). Participants highly valued greater movement freedom (β = 0.702; p = 0.007) and strongly preferred active or semi-passive control over passive modes (β = −0.626; p = 0.046). Feedback and comfort had limited effects. The mixed logit model revealed significant preference heterogeneity, specifically for passive control. The estimated WTP was approximately €26 per month for an additional degree of freedom. In conclusion, post-stroke preferences prioritize autonomy and mobility and are highly sensitive to cost. Integrating these findings into device design and reimbursement strategies could improve the adoption of rehabilitation exoskeletons. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Table 1 to 4 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files Tables.docx Suppl.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8620015","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":584918785,"identity":"cd0f4dc6-153e-47f1-8192-da2b6b4cf9ed","order_by":0,"name":"Koffi Adzinyo AGBEMANYOLE","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCBIYDQNKAgfnggwMfgCw2dqK1sCUbHJwB0sJMhBYGmBZmHhCTkBb+9vSHhwvbbIz52ZgZD9v82ibPx8zA+OFjDm4tEmceJBye2ZZmJtnGzHA4t++2IZBmlpy5DY81NxIOHOZtO2xjcL//wOHcntuMQC1szLx4tMjfSGyAaDkGtMWy57Y9QS0GN5IZQFrMwFoYftxOJKjF8MwzhsM859KMQX452NtwO7mNmbEZr1/kjqc//sxTZmPYz8bM/OHHn9u289ubD374iM/7IMDIBmO0gckGAupB4A8GYxSMglEwCkYBAgAAJXlUJw1Z4ZYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"IMT Atlantique, LaTIM, UMR INSERM 101, F-29238","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Koffi","middleName":"Adzinyo","lastName":"AGBEMANYOLE","suffix":""},{"id":584918786,"identity":"7b2b2c51-745e-4fea-9c0a-bbb9913a8e28","order_by":1,"name":"Mathieu LE STUM","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Univ. 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The sample comprised mostly men, aged 25\u0026ndash;80, with ~\u0026thinsp;50% over 65. Descriptive analyses used all 58 participants; five failed an internal validity check and were excluded from modeling, leaving 53 for preference estimation. Each respondent completed eight choice tasks comparing two device configurations. Conditional and mixed logit models estimated preference weights and willingness-to-pay (WTP).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMore than 90% of participants self-reported fair or good health status, and 78% expressed willingness to pay a monthly fee for a rehabilitation device. The conditional logit model fit was acceptable (Likelihood Ratio χ\u0026sup2;=93.97, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001; pseudo-R\u0026sup2;=0.17). Cost was a significant deterrent (β = \u0026minus;0.027; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Participants highly valued greater movement freedom (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.702; p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.007) and strongly preferred active or semi-passive control over passive modes (β = \u0026minus;0.626; p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.046). Feedback and comfort had limited effects. The mixed logit model revealed significant preference heterogeneity, specifically for passive control. The estimated WTP was approximately \u0026euro;26 per month for an additional degree of freedom.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, post-stroke preferences prioritize autonomy and mobility and are highly sensitive to cost. Integrating these findings into device design and reimbursement strategies could improve the adoption of rehabilitation exoskeletons.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Post-stroke individual preferences for lower limb rehabilitation exoskeletons","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-04 06:05:22","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8620015/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"29cc7772-ddc3-43d9-8cee-7376b3eb7e63","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 4th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-01T07:28:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-04 06:05:22","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8620015","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8620015","identity":"rs-8620015","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}