System and method for motion-controlled foot unit
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for controlling an ankle device associated with the movement of a limb, the method comprising:
- monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of an ankle device associated with a limb throughout at least one gait cycle, wherein the device comprises a foot unit, a lower limb member, and at least one actuator;
generating data indicative of the at least one of position and movement throughout the at least one gait cycle;
processing the data with a processing module to determine if the data corresponds to one of a plurality of defined gait patterns or events, wherein information defining said plurality of gait patterns or events is stored in a memory of the device;
determining ankle-angle adjustments corresponding to a determined gait pattern or event; and
adjusting the device based on the determined ankle-angle adjustments corresponding to the determined gait pattern or event, wherein the adjusting comprises actuating the at least one actuator to move the lower limb member relative to the foot unit in a manner substantially mimicking movement of a healthy ankle, said ankle-angle adjustments being applied over a swing phase of subsequent gait cycles until a state transition is detected from the determined gait pattern or event to a different gait pattern or event.
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Abstract
A system and method associated with the movement of a limb. In one example, the system, such as a prosthetic or orthotic system, includes an actuator that actively controls, or adjusts, the angle between a foot unit and a lower limb member. A processing module may control movement of the actuator based on data obtained from a sensor module. For instance, sensing module data may include information relating to the gait of a user and may be used to adjust the foot unit to substantially mimic the movement of a natural, healthy ankle. The system may further accommodate, for example, level ground walking, traveling up/down stairs, traveling up/down sloped surfaces, and various other user movements. In addition, the processing module may receive user input or display output signals through an external interface. For example, the processing module may receive a heel height input from the user.
313 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A method for controlling an ankle device associated with the movement of a limb, the method comprising:
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monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of an ankle device associated with a limb throughout at least one gait cycle, wherein the device comprises a foot unit, a lower limb member, and at least one actuator; generating data indicative of the at least one of position and movement throughout the at least one gait cycle; processing the data with a processing module to determine if the data corresponds to one of a plurality of defined gait patterns or events, wherein information defining said plurality of gait patterns or events is stored in a memory of the device; determining ankle-angle adjustments corresponding to a determined gait pattern or event; and adjusting the device based on the determined ankle-angle adjustments corresponding to the determined gait pattern or event, wherein the adjusting comprises actuating the at least one actuator to move the lower limb member relative to the foot unit in a manner substantially mimicking movement of a healthy ankle, said ankle-angle adjustments being applied over a swing phase of subsequent gait cycles until a state transition is detected from the determined gait pattern or event to a different gait pattern or event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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10. A method for controlling a prosthetic ankle device, the method comprising:
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monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of a prosthetic ankle device, wherein the at least one sensor generates data indicative of the at least one of position and movement of the prosthetic ankle device, and wherein the prosthetic ankle device comprises a foot unit, a lower limb member, and at least one actuator; receiving and processing the data with a control module to determine if the data corresponds to one of a plurality of defined gait patterns or events, wherein information defining the plurality of gait patterns or events is stored in a memory of the device; outputting with the control module at least one control signal based on a determined gait pattern or event; and adjusting the prosthetic ankle device based at least upon the control signal, wherein said adjusting comprises actuating the at least one actuator to move the lower limb member relative to the foot unit in a manner substantially mimicking movement of a healthy ankle, said actuating occurring as the prosthetic ankle device is operated during a swing phase of the device, and wherein said actuating does not occur during a stance phase of the ankle device, and said adjusting being applied at least until a new gait pattern or event is determined. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30, 35, 36)
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23. A method for controlling a prosthetic ankle device, the method comprising:
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monitoring, with at least one sensor, at least one of position and movement of a prosthetic ankle device, wherein the device comprises a foot unit, a single lower limb member pivotally attached to the foot unit and at least one actuator having a first end connected to the foot unit and a second end connected to the lower limb member, the at least one actuator configured to adjust an ankle angle between the foot unit and the lower limb member; generating data indicative of the at least one of position and movement; processing the data with a processing module to determine a gait cycle phase; during stance phases, not adjusting the ankle angle of the device; and during swing phase, actuating the at least one actuator to move the foot unit relative to the lower limb member in a manner that substantially mimics movement of a healthy ankle by first decreasing an ankle angle of the device to a dorsiflexion position and then increasing the ankle angle of the device to a plantarfiexion position. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification