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INVESTIGATION OF Prosthetic ankle design
1995/96Download the complete report (41 KB, PDF format) |
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The object of the project was to investigate the movement of the human ankle joint during walking with the aim of developing a prosthetic foot/ankle joint which traces the movement of the human ankle more closely than prosthetic feet currently on the market.
During normal locomotion the ankle plantarflexes between heel off and toe off. Although most of the flexion may be due to gravity and inertia, it is also partly due to a contraction of the calf muscles, which creates a "push off" effect. None of the prosthetic feet commonly used today display this characteristic.
The investigation was aimed at assessing the push-off effect of the human ankle and trying to recreate it in a prosthetic foot. It would be an advantage to be able to store energy in the prosthetic foot in the period from heel strike to heel off and then to release it to give a "push off" effect after heel off.
Because of the complex nature of ankle movement the investigation was limited to motion in the sagittal plain during normal locomotion on a level surface
