Robotic Prosthesis Alignment System: RoboPAL

描述（由申请人提供）：相对于下肢假体足部的臼孔定位对于残肢和完整的肌肉骨骼系统的舒适、功能和健康至关重要。目前，实现正确的对齐是一项耗时且不精确的技术，需要义肢专家付出相当大的技能和努力，而且患者无法直接控制。拟议的项目将显著推进校准过程。提出的工作目标是创建一个机器人假肢对齐系统（RoboPAL），使下肢假肢的对齐能够通过机器人控制快速调整。该系统将允许义肢医生和患者通过手持控制单元与集成了标准模块化组件的执行器单元无线通信来指定对齐变化。该技术将允许义肢医生专注于“大局”（即减少在地板上拿着扳手的时间），并通过直接控制调整使患者能够更充分地参与。此外，该系统将能够接受计算机义肢校准系统（ComPAS）的输入，ComPAS是一种单独的技术，可以测量通过义肢传输的载荷，计算错位的大小和方向，并输出建议的校准修改的方向和大小。当RoboPAL和ComPAS一起使用时，结果将是一个自动对准肢体。该系统还为远程医疗应用打开了大门——在没有足够假肢护理的地区，由经验丰富的从业人员通过网络流媒体视频直接控制调整。在本工作中，我们将设计和构建原型系统，评估人体受试者的性能和可行性，并与受试者和同事一起在临床假肢中审查结果。本项目将推进下肢假体部件对齐的重要进程。这项技术将允许义肢医生快速、轻松地调整对齐，并且比目前可能的方式更容易控制。它还将允许患者直接参与肢体对齐，并将使通过远程医疗范例远程完成对齐成为可能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Positioning of the socket relative to the foot of a lower limb prosthesis is critical to comfort, function, and health of the residual limb and intact musculoskeletal system. Achieving proper alignment is currently a time- consuming and imprecise art that requires considerable skill and effort on the part of the prosthetist, and permits no direct control by the patient. The proposed project will significantly advance the alignment process. The objective of the proposed work is to create a Robotic Prosthetic Alignment system (RoboPAL) that enables the alignment of lower limb prostheses to be rapidly adjusted by robotic control. The system will allow both the prosthetist and the patient to specify alignment changes via a hand-held control unit communicating wirelessly with an actuator unit integrated with standard modular components. The technology will permit the prosthetist to concentrate on "the big picture" (i.e. eliminate time on the floor with wrenches in hand), and will enable the patient to participate more fully by directly controlling adjustments. In addition, the system will be capable of accepting input from the Computerized Prosthetic Alignment System (ComPAS), a separate technology that measures loads transmitted through the prosthesis, calculates magnitude and direction of misalignment, and outputs direction and magnitude of advised alignment modifications. When RoboPAL and ComPAS are used together, the result will be an auto-aligning limb. The system also opens the door for telemedicine applications - adjustments directly controlled by experienced practitioners observing patients via web-streamed video in areas without adequate prosthetic care. In the proposed work, we will design and build the prototype system, evaluate performance and feasibility with human subjects, and review the results with the subjects and colleagues in clinical prosthetics. This project will advance the important process of aligning the components of lower limb prostheses. The technology will allow the prosthetist to adjust the alignment quickly, easily, and in a more well-controlled manner than is currently possible. It will also allow the patient to directly participate in aligning the limb, and will make it possible for alignment to be accomplished remotely through a telemedicine paradigm.