An artificial gastrocnemius for a transtibial prosthesis.
A transtibial amputee does not have a functional gastrocnemius muscle, which affects the knee as well as the ankle joint. In this investigation, we developed a transtibial prosthesis comprising an artificial gastrocnemius mechanism as well as a powered ankle-foot device. A pilot study was conducted with a bilateral transtibial amputee walking at a self-selected speed. The trial compared muscle electromyography and metabolic cost data for the amputee while using the active gastrocnemius prosthesis and a conventional Flex-Foot prosthesis. The experimental data showed that the compensation for ankle-foot and gastrocnemius function offered by the active device resulted in a reduced metabolic cost for the amputee participant.
Endo
Ken
K
Biomechatronics group, Media lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. kene@media.mit.edu
Swart
Eric
E
Herr
Hugh
H
D000674:Amputees / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology; D001186:Artificial Limbs; D005528:Foot / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013977:Tibia / Q000601:surgery*