Biomimetic Slope Adaptive Foot-Ankle Prosthesis

The primary objectiveis to develop acommercially-viable prototype of theslopeadaptive prosthesis design and to iteratively improvethe design based on ISO standards testingand rigorous usein human subject field trials. The proposed work will build upon knowledgegained in PhaseI of the project,which established feasibility for this design approach in alightweight, passive hydraulicfoot-anklesystem. The Biomimetic Slope AdaptiveFoot developed in this project seeks to mimicthe physiologicankle by storingenergy sooner in thegaitcycle, settingtheequilibrium pointat foot-flat instead ofmid-stance,which allowsenergy to bestored overalarger range ofmotion and released to the user during unloading. This isexpected to provideagreateramount ofenergy storageand return. Current non-powered (passive) footankle prosthesescannotadapt orchangealignment to different terrain during walking. Theyareless stablethan an articulated ankle,which can reach foot-flatvery soon after heel strike. The proposed foot will haveautomaticslopeadaptation through hydraulicanklearticulation. The purely mechanical system,without battery pack orelectronics,will beinherently morerugged and robust,meetingthe needs ofactive prosthesis wearers,whether servicemembers,veterans orcivilians.