scholarly journals Biomechanical Design and Prototyping of a Powered Ankle-Foot Prosthesis

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 5806
Author(s):  
Stefano Alleva ◽  
Michele Gabrio Antonelli ◽  
Pierluigi Beomonte Zobel ◽  
Francesco Durante

Powered ankle-foot prostheses for walking often have limitations in the range of motion and in push-off power, if compared to a lower limb of a healthy person. A new design of a powered ankle-foot prosthesis is proposed to obtain a wide range of motion and an adequate power for a push-off step. The design methodology for this prosthesis has three points. In the first one, a dimensionless kinematic model of the lower limb in the sagittal plane is built, through an experimental campaign with healthy subjects, to calculate the angles of lower limb during the gait. In the second point a multibody inverse dynamic model of the lower limb is constructed to calculate the foot-ground contact force, its point of application and the ankle torque too, entering as input data the calculated angles of the lower limb in the previous point. The third point requires, as input of the inverse dynamic model, the first dimensioning data of the ankle-foot prosthesis to obtain the load acting on the components of the prosthesis and the angle torque of the actuator during the gait cycle. Finally, an iteration cycle begins with the inverse dynamic model modifying the ankle torque and angle until these quantities during the gait are as close as possible to the physiological quantities. After the mechanical design and the construction of the prototype of the prosthesis, an experimental methodology was used for preliminary validation of the design. The preliminary tests in the laboratory on the prototype alone show that the range of motion of the ankle angle during the gait is close to a healthy person’s: 27.6° vs. 29°. The pushing force of the distal area of the prototype is 1.000 N, instead of 1.600 N, because a budget reduction forced us to choose components for the prototype with lower performance.

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 598
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Pau ◽  
Bruno Leban ◽  
Michela Deidda ◽  
Federica Putzolu ◽  
Micaela Porta ◽  
...  

The majority of people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS), report lower limb motor dysfunctions, which may relevantly affect postural control, gait and a wide range of activities of daily living. While it is quite common to observe a different impact of the disease on the two limbs (i.e., one of them is more affected), less clear are the effects of such asymmetry on gait performance. The present retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the magnitude of interlimb asymmetry in pwMS, particularly as regards the joint kinematics, using parameters derived from angle-angle diagrams. To this end, we analyzed gait patterns of 101 pwMS (55 women, 46 men, mean age 46.3, average Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score 3.5, range 1–6.5) and 81 unaffected individuals age- and sex-matched who underwent 3D computerized gait analysis carried out using an eight-camera motion capture system. Spatio-temporal parameters and kinematics in the sagittal plane at hip, knee and ankle joints were considered for the analysis. The angular trends of left and right sides were processed to build synchronized angle–angle diagrams (cyclograms) for each joint, and symmetry was assessed by computing several geometrical features such as area, orientation and Trend Symmetry. Based on cyclogram orientation and Trend Symmetry, the results show that pwMS exhibit significantly greater asymmetry in all three joints with respect to unaffected individuals. In particular, orientation values were as follows: 5.1 of pwMS vs. 1.6 of unaffected individuals at hip joint, 7.0 vs. 1.5 at knee and 6.4 vs. 3.0 at ankle (p < 0.001 in all cases), while for Trend Symmetry we obtained at hip 1.7 of pwMS vs. 0.3 of unaffected individuals, 4.2 vs. 0.5 at knee and 8.5 vs. 1.5 at ankle (p < 0.001 in all cases). Moreover, the same parameters were sensitive enough to discriminate individuals of different disability levels. With few exceptions, all the calculated symmetry parameters were found significantly correlated with the main spatio-temporal parameters of gait and the EDSS score. In particular, large correlations were detected between Trend Symmetry and gait speed (with rho values in the range of –0.58 to –0.63 depending on the considered joint, p < 0.001) and between Trend Symmetry and EDSS score (rho = 0.62 to 0.69, p < 0.001). Such results suggest not only that MS is associated with significantly marked interlimb asymmetry during gait but also that such asymmetry worsens as the disease progresses and that it has a relevant impact on gait performances.


2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Paul Pott ◽  
Achim Wagner ◽  
Essameddin Badreddin ◽  
Hans-Peter Weiser ◽  
Markus L. R. Schwarz

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1849
Author(s):  
Jianbo Liu ◽  
Rongqiang Guan ◽  
Yongming Yao ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Linqiang Hu

In this paper, we propose a novel kinematic and inverse dynamic model for the flybar-less (FBL) swashplate mechanism of a small-scale unmanned helicopter. The swashplate mechanism is an essential configuration of helicopter flight control systems. It is a complex, multi-loop chain mechanism that controls the main rotor. In recent years, the demand for compact swashplate designs has increased owing to the development of small-scale helicopters. The swashplate mechanism proposed in this paper is the latest architectures used for hingeless rotors without a Bell-Hiller mixer. Firstly, the kinematic analysis is derived from the parallel manipulators concepts. Then, based on the principle of virtual work, a methodology for deriving a closed-form dynamic equation of the FBL swashplate mechanism is developed. Finally, the correctness and efficiency of the presented analytical model are demonstrated by numerical examples and the influence factors of the loads acted on actuators are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lexyne L. McNealy ◽  
Steven A. Gard

In able-bodied individuals, the ankle joint functions to provide shock absorption, aid in foot clearance during the swing phase, and provides a rocker mechanism during stance phase to facilitate forward progression of the body. Prosthetic ankles currently used by persons with lower limb amputations provide considerably less function than their anatomical counterparts. However, increased ankle motion in the sagittal plane may improve the gait of persons with lower limb amputations while providing a more versatile prosthesis. The primary aim of this study was to examine and quantify temporal-spatial, kinematic, and kinetic changes in the gait of four male subjects with bilateral trans-femoral amputations who walked with and without prosthetic ankle units. Two prosthesis configurations were examined: (i) Baseline with only two Seattle LightFoot2 prosthetic feet, and (ii) with the addition of Endolite Multiflex Ankle units. Data from the gait analyses were compared between prosthetic configurations and with a control group of able-bodied subjects. The amputee subjects' freely-selected walking speeds, 0.74 ± 0.19 m/s for the Baseline condition and 0.81 ± 0.15 m/s with the ankle units, were much less than that of the control subjects (1.35 ± 0.10 m/s). The amputee subjects demonstrated no difference in walking speed, step length, cadence, or ankle, knee, and hip joint moments and powers between the two prosthesis configurations. Sagittal plane ankle range of motion, however, increased by 3–8° with the addition of the prosthetic ankle units. Compared to the control group, following initial contact the amputee subjects passively increased the rate of energy storage or dissipation at the prosthetic ankle joint, actively increased the power generation at the hip, and increased the extension moment at the hip while wearing the prosthetic ankle configuration. The amputee subjects increased the power generation at their hips, possibly as compensation for the reduced rate of energy return at their prosthetic ankles. Results from subject questionnaires administered following the gait analyses revealed that the prosthetic ankle units provided more comfort during gait and did not increase the perceived effort to walk. The subjects also indicated that they preferred walking with the prosthetic ankle units compared to the Baseline configuration. The results of the study showed that the prosthetic ankle units improved sagittal plane ankle range of motion and increased the comfort and functionality of the amputee subjects’ prostheses by restoring a significant portion of the ankle rocker mechanism during stance phase. Therefore, prosthetic ankle mechanisms should be considered a worthwhile option when prostheses are prescribed for persons with trans-femoral amputations.


2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1346-1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Green ◽  
H. Meng ◽  
D. E. Angelaki

Author(s):  
Dalei Pan ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
Yunjie Miao

This article proposes a novel type of series-parallel lower extremity exoskeleton driven by hydraulic actuators. Each leg of the exoskeleton has six DOFs, which can walk like human and carry heavy loads. A mapping from the positions of human lower extremity joints to the exoskeleton joints was established. Based on Kane's method, the inverse dynamic model of the exoskeleton was conducted. Finally, the exoskeleton humanoid gaits of level walking, ascent, descent, level walking with different loads and speed were simulated, and the required driving torques and power were obtained. These performance analyses provide a basis to the design of the control law and the estimation of the hydraulic actuator parameters for the exoskeleton.


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