Prosthetic Attachment

Robotic Lower-Extremity Gait Simulator

Testing knee-ankle-foot prostheses and prosthetic attachment methods in a repeatable way is challenging, especially when these methods cannot be implemented in human-subject experiments. To address this problem, we are developing a robotic gait simulator that recreates 6-DOF kinematics and vertical ground reaction forces over the full gait cycle at near-gait speed. This simulator makes use of silicone model limbs we have created in our lab, and the resulting gait motion enables a commercial prosthesis to walk on a treadmill. Various sensors and measurement tools (e.g. motion capture) can then be used to evaluate performance of prostheses or the attachment methods.

• Project Lead: Will Flanagan
• Project Team: Amin Khatibi