Characterizing Ankle Function During Sloped Locomotion For Prosthesis Development

说明： 由于一种新型动力踝足假体的开发，历史上第一次，截肢患者在平地行走时恢复了正常的功能。然而，协调自然和已建成的环境还需要在上坡和下坡上行走和跑步的能力。因此，踝足假体必须能够适应速度和坡度的变化，以使腿部截肢的退伍军人在运动过程中实现完全的功能对等。拟议的职业发展奖旨在表征在斜坡上行走和跑步时的生物踝关节功能，以进一步开发先进的动力踝足假体。20名非截肢者的踝关节扭矩和角度数据将在水平、上坡和下坡(0？、/-3？、/-6？和/-9？)上以不同速度(1.0、1.25、1.5、2.0、2.5和3.0米/S)行走和跑步时收集。这些生物踝关节数据将被用来为动力踝足假体在每种速度和坡度组合下开发假肢踝关节控制参数。然后，这些参数将在动力假体中实施和测试。踝关节扭矩和角度、肌肉活动和代谢成本数据将从10名单侧经胫骨截肢的患者中收集，这些患者在以上述速度和坡度组合行走和跑步时使用动力假体。这些数据将与非截肢者的数据进行比较，以确定动力假体是否能够模拟生物踝关节。据预测，如果假肢踝关节提供生物等量的机械动力、柔韧性和活动范围，那么与非截肢者相比，截肢者将获得同等的生物力学、肌肉活动和代谢能量成本。来自拟议的CDA-2的数据将对假体设计以及矫形器和其他辅助设备的设计具有极高的价值。随着接受腿部截肢的退伍军人人数的增加，对先进假体的需求也越来越高。拟议中的最先进的动力假体的研究和开发专门旨在使下肢截肢的人能够在平地、上坡和下坡上以各种速度行走和奔跑。我致力于改进 通过对辅助机械设备的持续研究、开发和分析，为退伍军人提供康复和保健服务。我之前在人体生物力学、生理学和机电一体化领域的研究经验，以及我的CDA-1，题为“佩戴动力踝足假体对截肢者行走的影响”，解决了与拟议研究直接相关的问题。目前的建议是全面研究上坡和下坡运动，这与退伍军人特别相关，因为先进的机械设备有望显著改善功能，并间接提高生活质量。我计划继续我的研究生涯，并渴望成为退伍军人事务部研究、康复和发展服务部的一名独立调查员。为了实现我的职业抱负，我提出了职业目标，以扩大我的科学研究技能和知识，肌肉骨骼建模和控制系统技术的知识，以及假肢设备的临床知识和应用。我还召集了在假体设计和开发、康复、计算机建模和模拟以及人体运动的生物力学和能量学方面拥有广泛专业知识的导师、顾问和合作者，这些领域将对我的职业发展和我的研究目标做出重大贡献。我对提议的项目感到非常兴奋，并期待着这项重要的工作。

DESCRIPTION: For the first time in history, people with a lower limb amputation have regained normative function during level-ground walking due to the development of a new powered ankle-foot prosthesis. However, negotiating natural and built environments also requires the ability to walk and run on uphill and downhill slopes. Thus, an ankle-foot prosthesis must be able to accomodate changes in velocity and slope to allow Veterans with a leg amputation to achieve full functional equivalence during locomotion. The proposed Career Development Award aims to characterize biological ankle joint function during walking and running on slopes in order to further develop advanced powered ankle-foot prostheses. Ankle joint torque and angle data will be collected from 20 non-amputees while walking and running at multiple velocities (1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 m/s) on level, uphill, and downhill slopes (0¿, +/-3¿, +/-6¿, and +/-9¿). This biological ankle joint data will be used to develop prosthetic ankle joint control parameters for a powered ankle-foot prosthesis at each velocity and slope combination. Then, these parameters will be implemented and tested in the powered prosthesis. Ankle joint torque and angle, muscle activity, and metabolic cost data will be collected from 10 people with a unilateral transtibial amputation using the powered prosthesis while walking and running at the above- mentioned velocity and slope combinations. This data will be compared to that of non-amputees to determine if a powered prosthesis is capable of emulating a biological ankle joint. It is predicted that if biologically- equivalent mechanical power, compliance, and range of motion are supplied by the prosthetic ankle joint, people with a lower limb amputation will achieve equivalent biomechanics, muscle activity, and metabolic energy costs compared to non-amputees. The data from the proposed CDA-2 will be highly valuable for use in the design of prostheses, and also in the design of orthoses and other assistive devices. With the increasing number of Veterans with leg amputations, there is a heightened demand for advanced prostheses. The proposed research and development of a state-of-the-art powered prosthesis specifically aims to give people with a lower limb amputation the ability to walk and run over a full range of velocities on level-ground, uphill, and downhill slopes. I am committed to improving Veterans' rehabilitation and healthcare through ongoing research, development, and analysis of assistive mechanical devices. My previous research experience, in the areas of human biomechanics, physiology, and mechatronics, and my CDA-1, entitled the "Effects of wearing a powered ankle-foot prosthesis on amputee walking", have addressed questions directly related to the proposed research. The current proposal, to comprehensively study uphill and downhill locomotion, has specific relevance to Veterans because advanced mechanical devices promise to significantly improve function and indirectly improve quality of life. I plan to continue pursung my research career and aspire to become an independent investigator within the Department of Veterans Affairs Research Rehabilitation and Development Service. To further my career aspirations, I have proposed professional goals to expand my scientific research skills and knowledge, knowledge of musculoskeletal modeling and control systems techniques, and clinical knowledge and application of prosthetic devices. I also bring together mentors, consultants, and collaborators with extensive expertise in prosthesis design and development, rehabilitation, computer modeling and simulation, and the biomechanics and energetics of human locomotion; areas that will contribute significantly toward my career development and toward the goals of my research. I am very excited about the proposed project and look forward to this important work.