Modeling of WalkMECH: A fully-passive energy-efficient transfemoral prosthesis prototype

Ünal, Ramazan; Klijnstra, F.; Burkink, B.; Behrens, S. M.; Hekman, Edsko E.G.; Koopman, Bart; Carloni, Raffaella

doi:10.1109/icorr.2013.6650406

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…These figures show that the joint trajectories are changing with the similar profile according to the walking speed. The deviation from the natural gait profile of the amputee gait is mainly due to the faster push-off at the ankle joint which was discussed in detail in the previous studies [19], [20]. Overall, these results are justifying the idea behind the actuation system and the controller architecture that is presented in this study.…”

Section: A Gait Analysissupporting

confidence: 69%

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The control of recycling energy strorage capacity for WalkMECHadapt

Ünal

Klijnstra

Behrens

et al. 2014

The 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication

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In this study, we present the implementation of the controller for adapting the energy storage capacity of the WalkMECH according to the different walking speeds and gait characteristics of an amputee. Since the main aim is to keep the design both mechanically and metabolically energyefficient, the actuation system is designed based on the minimal actuation principle. The overall system, called WalkMECHadapt, is evaluated with the experimental test set-up with a healthy subject. Test results show that the system is working sufficiently for adapting the energy storage capacity of the WalkMECHadapt thanks to the simple nature of the controller architecture.

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Section: A Gait Analysissupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Regarding the latter, we presented the design and realization of an energy-efficient trans-femoral prosthesis for walking in our previous studies [18], [19], [20]. It contains three distinct elements, which provide a large portion of the required energy for the ankle push-off generation [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The control of recycling energy strorage capacity for WalkMECHadapt

Ünal

Klijnstra

Behrens

et al. 2014

The 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication

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“…This necessity of removing energy from the joint provides the opportunity to capture this energy to return to the system at another point of time in the gait cycle. This has been previously done in systems such as the passive WalkMECH (Unal et al, 2013), which uses a spring, push/pullrod, and locking system to deliver energy to the ankle. Systems such as the active MIT CSEA knee simply push regenerated electrical energy from the backdriven drive motor onto the power bus during times of negative work (Rouse et al, 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Connecting the knee and ankle is a special Energy Transfer (ET) mechanism, a system built with the intention of utilizing captured work from the knee to assist the ankle motor in driving the ankle. This has been explored before in passive devices (Matthys et al, 2012; Unal et al, 2013), but never in an active prosthesis. The combination of systems of the CYBERLEGs Beta-Prosthesis creates a highly passive system for normal level ground walking while remaining capable of providing the high torques and power output for high energy output tasks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenges and Achievements of Experimental Implementation of an Active Transfemoral Prosthesis Based on Biological Quasi-Stiffness: The CYBERLEGs Beta-Prosthesis

et al. 2018

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The CYBERLEGs Beta-Prosthesis is an active transfemoral prosthesis that can provide the full torque required for reproducing average level ground walking at both the knee and ankle in the sagittal plane. The prosthesis attempts to produce a natural level ground walking gait that approximates the joint torques and kinematics of a non-amputee while maintaining passively compliant joints, the stiffnesses of which were derived from biological quasi-stiffness measurements. The ankle of the prosthesis consists of a series elastic actuator with a parallel spring and the knee is composed of three different systems that must compliment each other to generate the correct joint behavior: a series elastic actuator, a lockable parallel spring and an energy transfer mechanism. Bench testing of this new prosthesis was completed and demonstrated that the device was able to create the expected torque-angle characteristics for a normal walker under ideal conditions. The experimental trials with four amputees walking on a treadmill to validate the behavior of the prosthesis proved that although the prosthesis could be controlled in a way that allowed all subjects to walk, the accurate timing and kinematic requirements of the output of the device limited the efficacy of using springs with quasi-static stiffnesses. Modification of the control and stiffness of the series springs could provide better performance in future work.

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“…Low-cost, powered ankles for developing countries, however, have not yet been developed. However, design optimization of passive lower limb prostheses that store and return energy during a step, to behave as close to a physiological foot as possible, is still an active area of research with encouraging results [41][42][43][44].…”

Section: Practicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of the Inertial Properties of Above-Knee Prostheses on Optimal Stiffness, Damping, and Engagement Parameters of Passive Prosthetic Knees

Narang

Arelekatti

Winter

2016

Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

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Our research aims to design low-cost, high-performance, passive prosthetic knees for developing countries. In this study, we determine optimal stiffness, damping, and engagement parameters for a low-cost, passive prosthetic knee that consists of simple mechanical elements and may enable users to walk with the normative kinematics of able-bodied humans. Knee joint power was analyzed to divide gait into energy-based phases and select mechanical components for each phase. The behavior of each component was described with a polynomial function, and the coefficients and polynomial order of each function were optimized to reproduce the knee moments required for normative kinematics of able-bodied humans. Sensitivity of coefficients to prosthesis mass was also investigated. The knee moments required for prosthesis users to walk with able-bodied normative kinematics were accurately reproduced with a mechanical system consisting of a linear spring, two constant-friction dampers, and three clutches (R 2 ¼ 0:90 for a typical prosthetic leg). Alterations in upper leg, lower leg, and foot mass had a large influence on optimal coefficients, changing damping coefficients by up to 180%. Critical results are reported through parametric illustrations that can be used by designers of prostheses to select optimal components for a prosthetic knee based on the inertial properties of the amputee and his or her prosthetic leg.

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Modeling of WalkMECH: A fully-passive energy-efficient transfemoral prosthesis prototype

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

The control of recycling energy strorage capacity for WalkMECHadapt

The control of recycling energy strorage capacity for WalkMECHadapt

The Challenges and Achievements of Experimental Implementation of an Active Transfemoral Prosthesis Based on Biological Quasi-Stiffness: The CYBERLEGs Beta-Prosthesis

The Effects of the Inertial Properties of Above-Knee Prostheses on Optimal Stiffness, Damping, and Engagement Parameters of Passive Prosthetic Knees

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