Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
Sensors (Basel). 2018 Feb 27;18(3):706. doi: 10.3390/s18030706.
This paper proposes a novel and an affordable lower limb prosthesis to enable normal gait kinematics for trans-femoral amputees. The paper details the design of a passive prosthesis with magneto-rheological (MR) damping system and electronic control. A new control approach based on plantar insole feedback was employed here. Strategically placed sensors on the plantar insole provide required information about gait cycle to a finite state controller for suitable action. A proportional integral (PI) based current controller controls the required current for necessary damping during gait. The prosthesis was designed and developed locally in India keeping in view the cost, functionality, socio-economic, and aesthetic requirements. The prototype was experimentally tested on a trans-femoral amputee and the results are presented in this work. The implementation of the proposed design and control scheme in the prototype successfully realizes the notion that normal gait kinematics can be achieved at a low cost comparable to passive prostheses. The incurring cost and power expenditure of the proposed prosthesis are evaluated against passive and active prostheses, respectively. The commercial implications for the prosthesis were explored on the basis of recommendations of ISPO Consensus Conference on Appropriate Prosthetic Technology in Developing Countries. The key objective of this work is to enable lucid design for development of an affordable prosthesis in a low-resource setting.
本文提出了一种新颖且经济实惠的下肢假肢，以实现股骨截肢者的正常步态运动学。本文详细介绍了一种具有磁流变（MR）阻尼系统和电子控制的被动假肢的设计。这里采用了一种基于足底鞋垫反馈的新控制方法。足底鞋垫上的战略位置传感器为有限状态控制器提供有关步态周期的必要信息，以采取适当的行动。基于比例积分（PI）的电流控制器控制步态期间所需的阻尼的必要电流。该假肢是根据成本、功能、社会经济和美学要求在印度本地设计和开发的。该原型在股骨截肢者身上进行了实验测试，结果在本工作中呈现。在原型中实现了所提出的设计和控制方案的概念，即可以以与被动假肢相当的低成本实现正常步态运动学。对所提出的假肢的成本和功耗分别进行了评估，以与被动和主动假肢进行比较。根据 ISPO 发展中国家适当假肢技术共识会议的建议，探讨了假肢的商业意义。这项工作的主要目标是在资源有限的情况下，为开发经济实惠的假肢进行清晰的设计。
