CAREER: Tuning passive prosthetic leg dynamics to create low-cost, robust devices that can replicate physiological gait in multiple activities of daily living

提案编号：1653758 PI：Winter，Amos这个CAREER项目的目的是描述仅利用被动机械元件（例如，没有电机或电子控制器）的假肢的动力学特性，以便可以调整其性能，以在日常生活的多种活动中产生所需的行走行为。该项目的重点是适合膝盖以上截肢者的全腿假肢。 我们的目标是了解假肢动力学如何根据被动假肢组件的质量，几何形状和刚度而变化，以及如何改变这些参数以准确地复制健全人行走。 结合这一理论研究，并使其适应日常生活的多种活动，将导致设计高性能，低成本的假肢，大大提高了发展中国家下肢截肢者的活动能力和生活质量，同时也为发达国家的被动假肢使用者提供了一种具有成本效益的选择。该计划的核心智力价值是创造知识，将假肢的机械设计与它们诱导的生物力学性能联系起来。这些知识将使修复师更好地定制肢体病人？体型体重和生活方式这个职业项目的教育和推广活动将包括教授研究生，本科生和高中生关于世界各地残疾人所面临的挑战，以及如何利用科学和工程对他们的生活产生根本影响。这些学生将直接为辅助设备的设计做出贡献，包括根据该奖项创建的假肢。该CAREER计划旨在通过提供发展中国家和发达国家负担得起且合适的高性能假肢，为下肢假肢用户创造尽可能广泛的影响。这个CAREER项目的目的是表征仅利用被动机械元件的假肢的动力学，以调整其性能，从而在日常生活的多种活动中产生所需的运动学和动力学。这将创造基本的工程知识，将假肢的机械设计与它们诱导的生物力学性能联系起来，并使假肢专家能够更好地为患者定制肢体。体型体重和生活方式拟议的研究将体现在高性能，低成本，坚固，纯机械假肢。肢体的功能将通过测量来自日常生活的常见活动的健全的运动学和动力学来增强，然后将这些用作预测模型中的目标，该预测模型预测如何使用被动机械元件产生健全的运动所需的关节扭矩。这项研究计划将建立一个基本的理解：关节扭矩应该如何变化作为腿段质量的函数，以产生所需的运动学;如何使用被动机械元件来诱导这些调整后的关节扭矩曲线;以及如何调整被动假肢脚的刚度和几何形状，以准确地复制生理步态。这项工作将首次用于适合膝上截肢者的全腿假肢。 该奖项产生的技术将大大提高发展中国家截肢者的活动能力和生活质量，同时也为发达国家的被动假肢用户提供了一种具有成本效益的选择。 该方案的教育和推广活动涉及高中生、本科生和研究生，为发展中国家的残疾人设计项目。 这将提高学生对需求分析重要性的理解，同时也支持吸引代表性不足的群体进入STEM领域的努力。

Proposal #: 1653758PI: Winter, AmosThe aim of this CAREER project is to characterize the dynamics of prosthetic legs that utilize only passive mechanical elements (e.g. no motors or electronic controllers) such that it is possible to tune their performance to generate desired walking behavior in multiple activities of daily living. The project focuses on full leg prostheses, suitable for individuals with above-knee amputations. The goal is to understand how prosthetic dynamics vary based on the mass, geometry, and stiffness of the components of a passive prosthetic and how these can be varied to accurately replicate ablebodied walking. Combining this theoretical study, and adapting it to multiple activities of daily living, will result in the design of high-performance, low-cost prosthetic limbs that drastically enhance the mobility and quality of life for persons with lower-limb amputation in developing countries, while also providing a cost effective option with enhanced function for users of passive prostheses in developed countries. The core intellectual merit of this program is the creation of knowledge that connects the mechanical design of prosthetic legs to the biomechanical performance they induce. This knowledge will enable prosthetists to better customize limbs to patients? body size, weight, and lifestyle. The educational and outreach activities of this CAREER project will include teaching graduate, undergraduate, and high school students about the challenges faced by people with disabilities throughout the world, and how science and engineering can be used to make a fundamental impact on their lives. These students will directly contribute to the design of assistive devices, including the prosthetic legs created under this award. This CAREER program was designed to create the broadest possible impact on lower-limb prosthesis users by delivering high-performance legs that are affordable and appropriate in developing and developed countries. The aim of this CAREER project is to characterize the dynamics of prosthetic legs that utilize only passive mechanical elements, in order to tune their performance to generate desired kinematics and kinetics in multiple activities of daily living. This will create fundamental engineering knowledge that correlates the mechanical design of prosthetic legs to the biomechanical performance they induce, and will enable prosthetists to better customize limbs to patients? body size, weight, and lifestyle. The proposed research will manifest in high-performance, low-cost, robust, purely mechanical prosthetic legs. Functionality of the limbs will be enhanced by measuring able-bodied kinematics and kinetics from common activities of daily living, and then using these as targets in predictive models of how joint torques required for able-bodied motion can be produced with passive mechanical elements. This research program will build a foundational understanding of: how joint torque should vary as a function of leg segment mass to produce desired kinematics; how these adjusted joint torque profiles can be induced using passive mechanical elements; and how the stiffness and geometry of passive prosthetic feet can be tuned to accurately replicate physiological gait. For the first time, this work will be done for full leg prostheses appropriate for above-knee amputees. The technology resulting from this award will drastically enhance mobility and quality of life for amputees in developing countries, while also providing a cost effective option with enhanced function for users of passive prostheses in developed countries. The education and outreach activities of this program involve high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in design projects for individuals with disabilities from developing countries. This will improve students understanding of the importance of needs analysis while also supporting efforts to attract underrepresented groups to STEM fields.