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Design and development of ankle-foot prosthesis with delayed release of plantarflexion. Michael Mitchell, MSc; Katelyn Craig, MSc; Peter Kyberd, PhD; Edmund Biden, DPhil; Greg Bush, CP. Aim Capture absorbed energy in ankle and delay its release until specific times in gait cycle. Relevance
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Design and development of ankle-foot prosthesis with delayed release of plantarflexion Michael Mitchell, MSc; Katelyn Craig, MSc; Peter Kyberd, PhD; Edmund Biden, DPhil; Greg Bush, CP
Aim • Capture absorbed energy in ankle and delay its release until specific times in gait cycle. • Relevance • Adjusting timing of energy release may provide: • Smoother prosthetic gait. • Further insight into prosthetic gait by providing propulsive force at specific times during gait.
Method • Prosthesis (Össur Talux foot) was modified to capture maximum deflection induced on foot during dorsiflexion and retain it for controlled time period. • 2 subjects tried the device: • Subject 1 was involved in initial design phase and had full gait analysis. • Subject 2 simply tested device and delay settings.
Results • Combination of doubling mass of prosthesis and tethering shank and ankle affected gait cycle of both limbs: • Ranges of motion and timing of stride became closer to nondisabled population. • After all delay settings were tested: • Subject 1 found that 65 ms delay was most comfortable. • Subject 2 felt that longer delay was appropriate for slower walking speed.
Conclusion • Results suggest that an ankle that responds to user’s pace may be useful in a similar manner as the adaptive swing-phase knee designs that are available. • Based on subjects’ feedback and data, lengthening impulse from foot appears to makes it more comfortable to use.