An ankle–foot prosthesis designed to mimic the missing physiological limb generates a large sagittal moment during push off which must be transferred to the residual limb through the socket connection. The large moment is correlated with high internal socket pressures that are often a source of discomfort for the person with amputation, limiting prosthesis use. In this paper, the concept of active alignment is developed. Active alignment realigns the affected residual limb toward the center of pressure (CoP) during stance. During gait, the prosthesis configuration changes to shorten the moment arm between the ground reaction force (GRF) and the residual limb. This reduces the peak moment transferred through the socket interface during late stance. A tethered robotic ankle prosthesis has been developed, and evaluation results are presented for active alignment during normal walking in a laboratory setting. Preliminary testing was performed with a subject without amputation walking with able-bodied adapters at a constant speed. The results show a 33% reduction in the peak resultant moment transferred at the socket limb interface.
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June 2016
Design Innovation Paper
A Robotic Ankle–Foot Prosthesis With Active Alignment
Andrew Kennedy LaPrè,
Andrew Kennedy LaPrè
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: alapree@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: alapree@umass.edu
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Brian R. Umberger,
Brian R. Umberger
Department of Kinesiology,
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
30 Eastman Lane,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: umberger@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
30 Eastman Lane,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: umberger@umass.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Frank C. Sup, IV
Frank C. Sup, IV
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: sup@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: sup@umass.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Andrew Kennedy LaPrè
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: alapree@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: alapree@umass.edu
Brian R. Umberger
Department of Kinesiology,
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
30 Eastman Lane,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: umberger@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
30 Eastman Lane,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: umberger@umass.edu
Frank C. Sup, IV
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: sup@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst,
160 Governors Drive,
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: sup@umass.edu
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received November 18, 2014; final manuscript received February 10, 2016; published online May 12, 2016. Assoc. Editor: Venketesh Dubey.
J. Med. Devices. Jun 2016, 10(2): 025001 (9 pages)
Published Online: May 12, 2016
Article history
Received:
November 18, 2014
Revised:
February 10, 2016
Citation
Kennedy LaPrè, A., Umberger, B. R., and Sup, F. C., IV (May 12, 2016). "A Robotic Ankle–Foot Prosthesis With Active Alignment." ASME. J. Med. Devices. June 2016; 10(2): 025001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4032866
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