An Affordable Insole-Sensor-Based Trans-Femoral Prosthesis for Normal Gait

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel and an affordable lower limb prosthesis to enable normal gait kinematics for trans-femoral amputees. The paper details the design of a passive prosthesis with magneto-rheological (MR) damping system and electronic control. A new control approach based on plantar insole feedback was employed here. Strategically placed sensors on the plantar insole provide required information about gait cycle to a finite state controller for suitable action. A proportional integral (PI) based current controller controls the required current for necessary damping during gait. The prosthesis was designed and developed locally in India keeping in view the cost, functionality, socio-economic, and aesthetic requirements. The prototype was experimentally tested on a trans-femoral amputee and the results are presented in this work. The implementation of the proposed design and control scheme in the prototype successfully realizes the notion that normal gait kinematics can be achieved at a low cost comparable to passive prostheses. The incurring cost and power expenditure of the proposed prosthesis are evaluated against passive and active prostheses, respectively. The commercial implications for the prosthesis were explored on the basis of recommendations of ISPO Consensus Conference on Appropriate Prosthetic Technology in Developing Countries. The key objective of this work is to enable lucid design for development of an affordable prosthesis in a low-resource setting.

Lower limb rehabilitation exoskeleton robot: A review

“…For patients whose lower limb movement chain is damaged due to limb loss, prosthesis is needed to make up the missing lower limb parts and functions, promote physical activities, and make lower limb activities tend to be normal. [69][70][71] Li et al 72 designed an asymmetric exoskeleton, as shown in Figure 17, the left leg is an exoskeleton mechanical leg worn on the healthy leg of the amputees. The right leg is an assisted lower limb prosthesis composed of intelligent lower limb prosthesis and exoskeleton mechanical leg, which is connected to the stump of the disabled thigh through the prosthetic receiving cavity.…”

A Review on Structural Configurations of Magnetorheological Fluid Based Devices Reported in 2018–2020

“…Therefore, in view of the various problems in practical applications, many scholars have proposed different improvements and optimization methods based on traditional structures, which has greatly enhanced the performance of the MRF based devices. Furthermore, different from the above application types, the MRF has been further developed, and has in recent years become an important part of the haptic feedback system (Song et al, 2018b) and artificial limbs (Pandit et al, 2018) in the medical field. In the haptic feedback system based on the MRF, using the controlled rheological characteristics, a resistance environment similar to the real sense of touch is generated and transmitted to the operator, which is widely applied to the teleoperated catheter operating system (Song et al, 2018a) or intelligent haptic interface devices (Topcu et al, 2018).…”

Symmetry Analysis of Amputee Gait Based on Body Center of Mass Trajectory and Discrete Fourier Transform

“…For instance, joint kinematics may be estimated using both inertial sensors [32] or optical fiber [33]. Instrumented insoles may also be used, including for controlling lower-limbs prosthesis [34]. The method to provide such estimate robustly is yet to be developed.…”