Collaborative Research: Bioinspired High Energy Recycling Mechanism Ankle Foot Prosthesis

下肢截肢者依靠踝足假体行走。理想的踝关节足假体具有刚度和能量返回调节功能，可以最佳地调整其设置，以允许在不同环境和不同速度下有效的步态。然而，最先进的踝关节足假体使用传统的弹性部件，如弹簧、碳纤维叶片或梁，这些部件在步态过程中不能提供最佳的能量回报。本研究提出了一种踝关节足假体，该假体集成了高能量返回机制，以提供更好的辅助，并评估了其对下肢截肢者行走功能的影响。这项提议的研究有可能改善美国210万下肢截肢者的生活质量。该项目还将为高中生、本科生和研究生提供外展课程。这个外展计划将集中于探索与人类肌肉骨骼系统和辅助装置相关的工程原理。这将通过演示动作捕捉系统如何实时创建肌肉激活信号来完成，并演示使用开源肌肉骨骼模拟软件来解释这些示例。该项目将通过佛罗里达中部大学为期一周的暑期科学营和密西西比州立大学的密西西比地区科学与工程博览会项目来展示。本项目的主要动机是开发一种与目前先进的假肢设备完全不同的假肢设备，以减少下肢假肢设备使用者在行走时所需要的过度努力。该项目首次尝试将这种独特的高效能量回收机制应用于假肢装置，为下肢截肢者提供最佳的行走运动。该研究还将解决轻量级半活动踝关节足假体的关键需求，该假体在不同的行走速度下提供最佳的刚度和更大的能量回报。为此，将使用基于机器学习的设计优化来确定假体弹性弹簧的曲率和轮廓。建立的弹性弹簧模型将通过有限元分析和弯曲试验进行评估。然后，下肢截肢的参与者将与开发的假体一起行走，以确定假体的功效。设计一种满足这些关键需求的假肢装置不仅可以确定僵硬对行走和肌肉肌腱功能的影响，还可以满足临床对日常生活中使用的高效假肢的需求。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Persons with lower limb amputation rely on ankle foot prostheses for walking. An ideal ankle foot prosthesis has stiffness and energy return adjustment features that can optimally adapt its settings to allow for efficient gait in different environments and at various speeds. However, state-of-the-art ankle foot prostheses use conventional elastic components such as springs, carbon fiber blades, or beams that do not provide optimal energy return during gait. This study proposes an ankle foot prosthesis that integrates a high energy return mechanism to provide improved assistance and evaluates its impact on walking function for persons with lower limb amputation. The proposed research has the potential to improve the quality of life for the 2.1 million people with lower limb amputations in the United States. The project will also educate high school, undergraduate, and graduate students with outreach programs. This outreach program will focus on exploring engineering-related principles with the human musculoskeletal system and assistive devices. This will be done by demonstrating how motion capture systems can create muscle activation signals in real-time, and also demonstrating the usage of an open-source musculoskeletal simulation software to interpret these examples. The program will be presented through a week-long summer science camp at the University of Central Florida and Region V Mississippi Science & Engineering Fair program at Mississippi State University.The main motivation for this project is to develop a prosthetic device, completely distinguished from the current state-of-art prosthetic devices to decrease the excessive effort lower limb prosthetic device users require when walking. This project is the first attempt to employ this unique highly efficient energy recycling mechanism into a prosthetic device to enable optimal walking motions for persons with lower limb amputation. This study will also address the critical need for a lightweight semi-active ankle foot prosthesis that provides optimal stiffness and greater energy return at different walking speeds. To do this, a machine learning-based design optimization will be used to determine the curvatures and contours of the elastic spring of the prosthesis. The established elastic spring model will be evaluated with finite element analyses and bending tests. Then, participants with lower limb amputation will walk with the developed prosthesis to identify the efficacy of the prosthesis. Designing a prosthetic device that meets these critical needs will not only identify the impact of stiffness on walking and musculotendon function but also fill the clinical need for an efficient prosthesis for use in daily living.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.