Improving Mobility for Bilateral Amputees with Coordinated Robotic Prostheses

描述(由申请人提供)：典型假体的能量被动行为限制了此类假体复制健康肢体功能的程度。尽管如此，单侧经股截肢者可以通过他们未受影响的腿的代偿行动在很大程度上抵消这些缺陷。然而，在双侧经股截肢者中，被动假体的生物力学缺陷不能通过这种代偿行为来掩盖，因此在运动方面的缺陷更加明显。因此，尽管双侧经股截肢者在下肢截肢者中所占比例相对较小，但这一人群的残疾程度明显高于其单侧或经胫骨截肢者。动力假体(即带有动力膝关节和踝关节的假肢)能够在更大程度上模拟健康肢体的生物力学行为，而不是被动假肢。因此，这项建议的基本假设是，相对于以下情况，一对动力假体将更好地恢复双侧经股截肢患者的步态 被动假体。特别是，这一假设将在6名双侧股动脉截肢者身上进行评估，方法是评估与每个受试者日常使用的被动假体相比，动力假体降低髋关节扭矩和功率的程度，以及动力假体降低运输的代谢成本的程度。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The energetically passive behavior of typical prostheses limits the extent to which such prostheses can replicate healthy limb function. Despite this, unilateral transfemoral amputees can largely offset these deficiencies with compensatory actions from their unaffected leg. In the case of bilateral transfemoral amputees, however, the biomechanical deficiencies of passive prostheses cannot be masked by such compensatory actions, and therefore the deficiencies in locomotion are considerably more evident. As a result, although bilateral trans- femoral amputees constitute a relative small proportion of lower extremity amputees, this population is substantially more disabled than their unilateral or transtibial counterparts. A powered prosthesis (i.e., with powered knee and ankle joints) is able to emulate the biomechanical behaviors of the healthy limb to a much greater extent than a passive prosthesis. As such, the underlying hypothesis of this proposal is that a pair of powered prostheses will better restore gait to bilateral transfemoral amputees, relative to passive prostheses. In particular, this hypothesis will be evaluated on six bilateral transfemoral amputee subjects by assessing the extent to which the powered prostheses reduce hip joint torque and power, and the extent to which powered prostheses reduce the metabolic cost of transport, relative to each subject's daily-use passive prostheses.