I-Corps: Customer Discovery for a Semi-Powered Transtibial Prosthesis

该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是一种新型假肢，解决了60多万下肢截肢者的许多健康问题。截肢人群表现出许多与移动任务相关的日常挑战，例如下楼梯，甚至平地行走。该项目旨在开发一种踝关节假体，以满足许多这些需求，同时保持一个小，安静，重量轻的包。商业市场上没有其他假体具有与该器械相同的功能，因此，该器械可以填补市场空白。该I-Corps项目基于一种新型踝关节假体，采用了一种新型致动器。这种新颖的致动器允许该装置表现出以下三种机械功能：1）在负载下的高扭矩锁定; 2）在负载下的高功率耗散;以及3）在没有负载的情况下的低功率产生。这些功能使截肢者能够适应各种地形，在站立时获得支持，像健康受试者一样进行楼梯下降，以及在摆动时抬起脚趾以避免绊倒。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is a novel prosthesis that addresses many health concerns addressed by the more than 600,000 individuals in the lower limb amputee population. The amputee population exhibits many day-to-day challenges associated with mobility tasks such as descending stairs, or even level ground walking. This projects seeks to develop an ankle prosthesis that addresses many of these needs while maintaining a small, quiet, and lightweight package. No other prosthesis on the commercial market exhibits the same functionality as this device, and therefore, there exists a gap in the market that can be filled by this device.This I-Corps project is based on a novel ankle prosthesis, utilizing a novel actuator. This novel actuator allows this device to exhibit the following three mechanical functions: 1) high torque locking under load; 2) high-power dissipation under load; and 3) low-power generation in the absence of a load. These functions allow amputees to adapt to various terrains, gain support during standing, perform stair descent like healthy subjects as well as lift their toe during swing to avoid tripping. A prototype device has been created, and is to be assessed on amputees to determine its biomechanical benefit.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.