Improved Amputee Quality of Life Enabled by Tailored, Self-Regenerating Energy Storage Device For Powered Prosthetics

PROJECT SUMMARY Improved Amputee Quality of Life Enabled by TailoredSelf Regenerating Energy Storage Device forPowered Prosthetics Poweredmotorized prosthetics enable users to more naturally perform taskssuch as climbing stairs or rising from a seated positionHowever because the power requirements fluctuate during the gait cyclethe current battery system is not energy efficient and also since energy is dissipated through a shunt resistor when the motor slows and changes directionAs a result the battery isover designed to accommodate necessary spikes in power drawImprovements to the power system to efficiently recover energy and provide power spikes would enable smallerlighter prostheses with longer use on one battery chargeThe overall objective of the Fast Track Phase I II SBIR program is to develop energy storage devicecontaining Giner s tailored Lithium Ion BatteryLIBand solid state capacitorspecifically designed to harvest energy pulses generated during braking of the joint motors in a powered prostheticGiner s proposed BatteryCapacitor HybridBCHwill propel a transfemoral amputee at leaststepson a single charge in a powered leg prostheticand will extend device use during more energy intensive actionssuch as running or jumpingExtending operational range and providing rapid recharge capability will reduce range anxietyimprove healthand raise quality of life for amputeesGenerallythese advances will increase the adoption of powered prosthetic limbsPhase I will identifyvalidate key advantagesand fabricate a bench top BCH module for a powered leg prosthetic that can regenerate energy within gait cycles and operate forsteps on a single chargeThe scope of the work for the Phase II will include further refinement of the BCH components as well as designingbuildingand testing full scale integrated BCH on prosthetics human gaits in collaboration with well known companies in prostheticsOverallour commercial goal is to build a complete product line of BCH power systems specifically tailored to the unique needs of prosthetic productsOur commercialization plan includes several other very relevant markets for the proposed technology that makes development of the technology an attractive business pursuit PROJECT NARRATIVERELEVANCE TO PUBLIC HEALTH An estimatedmillion Americans presently live with a limb amputationand the number of American amputees is anticipated to increase nearly linearly throughtomillionHigh functioning prosthetics can assist in improving the quality of life and the health of these amputeesThe proposed project will develop a prosthetic customized energy storage system for motor powered prosthetic limbs that will improve the functionlifetime and cost of prosthetic power supplieswhile improving function and conveniencetime between battery rechargefor patients