Intelligent ankle-foot prosthesis based on human structure and motion bionics.
Baoyu Li, Guanghua Xu, Zhicheng Teng and 4 others
PMID 39003459WHAT IT FOUND
A new bionic ankle-foot prosthesis prototype mimics human rolling-sliding joint motion and stores/releases energy efficiently.
Lab tests showed it matches human toe trajectories and recovers 88.96% of stored energy, but it has not yet been tested on amputees.
Key findings
01The prosthetic toe trajectory closely matched human toe movement, with errors within allowable limits despite processing and assembly variations.
02The carbon fiber foot stored and released energy effectively, with an average energy release/storage ratio of 88.96% over 30 cycles.
03The prosthesis achieved a range of motion greater than 100 degrees, exceeding the range of several existing commercial devices listed in the comparison table.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study tested a prototype on a bench and in motion capture simulations, not on human amputees. Human motion data was collected from only two healthy subjects, which may not represent the variability in amputee gait. The comparison to other devices is based on listed specifications, not head-to-head clinical trials. The paper states the next step is to assess biomechanical effects on the residual limb, which has not been done here.
Declared interests
The paper is supported by non-U.S. government funding. No commercial conflicts of interest are explicitly declared in the provided text, but the device design involves specific manufacturers (Ossur, Otto Bock) in the comparison table.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these bench and simulation results as evidence that this prosthesis improves walking economy or comfort for amputees. The device has not been tested in a clinical population, and the 'positive' findings are limited to mechanical performance in a lab setting.