Powered ankle-foot prosthesis to assist level-ground and stair-descent gaits

Au, Shannon Wing Ngor; Berniker, Max; Herr, Hugh M.

doi:10.1016/j.neunet.2008.03.006

Cited by 422 publications

(268 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Hof proposed that the brief burst of power at the ankle late in the stance phase of walking in humans involves an elastic 'catapult' mechanism powered by elastic energy storage in the Achilles tendon (Hof et al, 1983). This idea is supported by a recent successful design for an ankle prosthesis, which incorporates elasticity both in series and in parallel with the ankle motor, in part to provide the necessary power density late in the stance phase of walking (Au et al, 2008). A particularly dramatic catapult-like mechanism also occurs during limb swing in horses.…”

Section: ) Elastic Mechanisms In Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible mechanisms: the diverse roles of biological springs in vertebrate movement

Roberts

Azizi

2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

316

279

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Although speculation about elastic mechanisms in animal movement dates back to The Renaissance period (e.g. Borelli, 1689), our current understanding of the importance of springs in running rests on the work of contemporary physiologists. Early SummaryThe muscles that power vertebrate locomotion are associated with springy tissues, both within muscle and in connective tissue elements such as tendons. These springs share in common the same simple action: they stretch and store elastic strain energy when force is applied to them and recoil to release energy when force decays. Although this elastic action is simple, it serves a diverse set of functions, including metabolic energy conservation, amplification of muscle power output, attenuation of muscle power input, and rapid mechanical feedback that may aid in stability. In recent years, our understanding of the mechanisms and importance of biological springs in locomotion has advanced significantly, and it has been demonstrated that elastic mechanisms are essential for the effective function of the muscle motors that power movement. Here, we review some recent advances in our understanding of elastic mechanisms, with an emphasis on two proposed organizing principles. First, we review the evidence that the various functions of biological springs allow the locomotor system to operate beyond the bounds of intrinsic muscle properties, including metabolic and mechanical characteristics, as well as motor control processes. Second, we propose that an energy-based framework is useful for interpreting the diverse functions of series-elastic springs. In this framework, the direction and timing of the flow of energy between the body, the elastic element and the contracting muscle determine the function served by the elastic mechanism (e.g. energy conservation vs power amplification). We also review recent work demonstrating that structures such as tendons remodel more actively and behave more dynamically than previously assumed.

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Section: ) Elastic Mechanisms In Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible mechanisms: the diverse roles of biological springs in vertebrate movement

Roberts

Azizi

2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

316

279

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“…The performance measures include joint angle, joint torque, and power consumption. However, several research institutions have conducted end-user evaluations, including RIC [67,57], Northwestern University [67,57], Massachusetts Institute of Technology [4,5], and Hong Kong Polytechnic University [58].…”

Section: External Limb Prosthesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the suggestion of our clinicians, we updated the semantic differential scales to have the same range (i.e., [1,5], where 1 = no prompting needed and 5 = heavy prompting for the prompting level, and 1 = not attentive and 5 = very attentive for attention level) which provided the same granularity across the performance measurements. We introduced a tally box for the number of prompts given by the experimenter which provided the ability to better understand what an experimenter considered a "high" level of prompting versus "low."…”

Section: Designing Evaluations For An Assistive Robotic Armmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Evaluation Methods for Assistive Robotic Technology

Tsui

Feil-Seifer

Matarić

et al. 2009

Performance Evaluation and Benchmarking of Intelligent Systems

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Robots have been developed for several assistive technology domains, including intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders, eldercare, and post-stroke rehabilitation. Assistive robots have also been used to promote independent living through the use of devices such as intelligent wheelchairs, assistive robotic arms, and external limb prostheses. Work in the broad field of assistive robotic technology can be divided into two major research phases: technology development, in which new devices, software, and interfaces are created; and clinical, in which assistive technology is applied to a given end-user population. Moving from technology development towards clinical applications is a significant challenge. Developing performance metrics for assistive robots poses a related set of challenges. In this paper, we survey several areas of assistive robotic technology in order to derive and demonstrate domain-specific means for evaluating the performance of such systems. We also present two case studies of applied performance measures and a discussion regarding the ubiquity of functional performance measures across the sampled domains. Finally, we present guidelines for incorporating human performance metrics into end-user evaluations of assistive robotic technologies.

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“…Numerous research projects have focused on the development of adaptive and active foot designs [1,2,3,4]. Recent published work [5,6,7] has demonstrated the link that exists between impulse timing and the energy return from a prosthetic foot.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the design variables that contribute to the response of a prosthetic foot: Part II — Rig validation

Hawkins¹,

Sewell²,

Dupac³

2016

2016 International Conference Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Optimization (MEDO)

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-In this paper the validation of a rig capable of simulating the dynamic response of an energy storing and returning composite prosthetic foot during amputee running is considered. It is shown that the rig can simulate the running action of an amputee runner and return similar ground contact time. It has also been shown that if a small input force is applied in a timed and sympathetic manner to the prosthetic spring-mass system the amplitude of oscillation increases which agrees with results of previous research. The rig will allow the design variables that contribute to the response of a prosthetic foot during running to be understood and optimised to possible improve the foot's performance.

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Powered ankle-foot prosthesis to assist level-ground and stair-descent gaits

Cited by 422 publications

References 29 publications

Flexible mechanisms: the diverse roles of biological springs in vertebrate movement

Flexible mechanisms: the diverse roles of biological springs in vertebrate movement

Performance Evaluation Methods for Assistive Robotic Technology

Understanding the design variables that contribute to the response of a prosthetic foot: Part II — Rig validation

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