Transfemoral prosthetic systems and methods for operating the same
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling a transfemoral prosthetic device, comprising:
- monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of a transfemoral prosthetic device, wherein the device comprises;
a foot unit,a tibial member pivotally attached to the foot unit,a first actuator operatively coupled to the foot unit and to the tibial member, wherein the first actuator is configured to actively adjust an ankle angle between the foot unit and the tibial member,a femoral member pivotally attached to the tibial member, anda second actuator operatively coupled to the tibial member and to the femoral member, wherein the second actuator is configured to adjust a knee angle between the tibial member and the femoral member;
wherein the at least one sensor is positioned on the transfemoral prosthetic device;
generating data indicative of the at least one of position and movement;
processing the data to determine a gait cycle phase;
during a swing phase of the gait cycle phase determined from processing of the data, actuating the first actuator to move the foot unit relative to the tibial member in a manner that substantially mimics the movement of a healthy ankle; and
during the swing phase of the gait cycle phase determined from processing of the data, actuating the second actuator to move the tibial member relative to the femoral member in a manner that substantially mimics the movement of a healthy knee joint attached to a healthy ankle joint.
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Abstract
Certain embodiments of the invention relate to increasing the functionality of a transfemoral prosthetic device. In one embodiment, the transfemoral prosthetic device is configured such that the prosthetic knee maintains a load consistent with a healthy knee walking on level ground, while the prosthetic ankle adjusts for the incline or decline. In certain embodiments, adjustments, such as a toe lift function, are automatically performed after about three strides of the transfemoral prosthetic device user and/or when each of the strides has a stride speed of at least about 0.55 meters/second.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a transfemoral prosthetic device, comprising:
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monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of a transfemoral prosthetic device, wherein the device comprises; a foot unit, a tibial member pivotally attached to the foot unit, a first actuator operatively coupled to the foot unit and to the tibial member, wherein the first actuator is configured to actively adjust an ankle angle between the foot unit and the tibial member, a femoral member pivotally attached to the tibial member, and a second actuator operatively coupled to the tibial member and to the femoral member, wherein the second actuator is configured to adjust a knee angle between the tibial member and the femoral member; wherein the at least one sensor is positioned on the transfemoral prosthetic device; generating data indicative of the at least one of position and movement; processing the data to determine a gait cycle phase; during a swing phase of the gait cycle phase determined from processing of the data, actuating the first actuator to move the foot unit relative to the tibial member in a manner that substantially mimics the movement of a healthy ankle; and during the swing phase of the gait cycle phase determined from processing of the data, actuating the second actuator to move the tibial member relative to the femoral member in a manner that substantially mimics the movement of a healthy knee joint attached to a healthy ankle joint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of controlling a transfemoral prosthetic device, comprising:
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monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of a transfemoral prosthetic device, wherein the device comprises; a foot unit, a tibial member pivotally attached to the foot unit, a first actuator operatively coupled to the foot unit and to the tibial member, wherein the first actuator is configured to actively adjust an ankle angle between the foot unit and the tibial member, a femoral member pivotally attached to the tibial member, and a second actuator operatively coupled to the tibial member and to the femoral member, wherein the second actuator is configured to adjust a knee angle between the tibial member and the femoral member; generating data indicative of the at least one of position and movement; processing the data to determine a gait cycle phase; during a swing phase of the gait cycle phase; actuating the first actuator to move the foot unit relative to the tibial member in a manner that substantially mimics the movement of a healthy ankle such that the ankle angle between the foot unit and the tibial member provides for toe lift based on a gait speed of a user of the transfemoral prosthetic device; and actuating the second actuator to move the tibial member relative to the femoral member in a manner that substantially mimics the movement of a healthy knee joint attached to a healthy ankle joint. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification