Connecting Mechanical to Biomechanical Performance of Prosthetic Feet to Design Customized Passive Devices that Provide Improved Mobility
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to design high performance, low cost prosthetic feet that are optimized for multiple activities of daily living and tuned specifically for a user's height, weight, and activity level. The project involves a novel design metric, known as the Lower Limb Trajectory Error (LLTE), which we use to predict the biomechanical performance of prosthetic feet based on their geometry and stiffness. The LLTE can be used to optimize prosthetic foot designs for specific tasks, such as walking up ramps or on level ground. The major goals for this project are to: develop a clinical algorithm that will allow us to tune a prosthetic foot to a user's height and weight, create a single component, prototype foot design for level ground walking, validate the prototype foot's performance with amputees, collect reference data from able-bodied subjects walking up stairs and ramps, and designing a prosthetic foot optimized for these tasks. This year, we improved upon our single component prototype foot by adding an optimized heel component. We also validated this prototype with human subjects, and found that our prototype performed just as well or better than commercially available prosthetic feet. We also identified and eliminated a manufacturer defect in our equipment that interfered with our measurements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1086126
Entities
People
- Amos Winter
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology