scholarly journals Biomechanical Evaluation of Prosthetic Feet Designed Using the Lower Leg Trajectory Error Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Prost ◽  
W. Brett Johnson ◽  
Jenny A. Kent ◽  
Matthew J. Major ◽  
Amos G. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Nylon 6 ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Trajectory Error ◽  
Walking Pattern ◽  
Prosthetic Feet ◽  
Predictive Design

Abstract The walking pattern and comfort of a person with lower limb amputation are determined by the prosthetic foot’s diverse set of mechanical characteristics. However, most design methodologies are iterative and focus on individual parameters, preventing a holistic design of prosthetic feet for a user’s body size and walking preferences. Here we refined and evaluated the lower leg trajectory error (LLTE) framework, a novel quantitative and predictive design methodology that optimizes the mechanical function of a user’s prosthesis to encourage gait dynamics that match their body size and desired walking pattern. Five people with unilateral below-knee amputation walked over-ground at self-selected speeds using an LLTE-optimized foot made of Nylon 6/6, their daily-use foot, and a standardized commercial energy storage and return (ESR) foot. Using the LLTE feet, target able-bodied kinematics and kinetics were replicated to within 5.2% and 13.9%, respectively, 13.5% closer than with the commercial ESR foot. Additionally, energy return and center of mass propulsion work were 46% and 34% greater compared to the other two prostheses, which could lead to reduced walking effort. Similarly, peak limb loading and flexion moment on the intact leg were reduced by an average of 13.1%, lowering risk of long-term injuries. LLTE-feet were preferred over the commercial ESR foot across all users and preferred over the daily-use feet by two participants. These results suggest that the LLTE framework could be used to design customized, high performance ESR prostheses using low-cost Nylon 6/6 material.

Multi-Keel Passive Prosthetic Foot Design Optimization Using the Lower Leg Trajectory Error Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Prost ◽  
Heidi V. Peterson ◽  
Amos G. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Static Tests ◽  
Prosthetic Devices ◽  
Trajectory Error ◽  
Prosthetic Foot ◽  
Prosthetic Feet

Abstract People with lower-limb amputation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) lack access to adequate prosthetic devices that would restore their mobility and increase their quality of life. This is largely due to the cost and durability of existing devices. Single-keel energy storage and return (ESR) prosthetic feet have recently been developed to provide improved walking benefits at an affordable cost in LMICs. These low-cost single-keel ESR feet were created using a novel design methodology, the lower leg trajectory error (LLTE) framework. The LLTE framework enables the optimization of the stiffness and geometry of a user’s prosthesis to match a target walking pattern. However, these low-cost single-keel ESR prostheses do not provide the required durability to fulfill the international standards organization (ISO) testing, which prevents their widespread use and adoption. In this work, we developed a multi-keel prosthetic foot parametric model, and extended the LLTE framework to include this multi-keel architecture and the durability requirements. This extended LLTE framework enabled the design of durable and low-cost multi-keel ESR prosthetic feet made of Nylon 6/6. Multi-keel foot designs were shown to provide 76% improved walking performance (lower LLTE values) compared with single-keel ESR designs. Load testing of prototype multi-keel feet validated the multi-keel constitutive model predictions used in the LLTE framework. The measured deflections of the prototypes under load were accurately described with an average error of 0.6 ± 0.4 mm (5.7 ± 4.2%). These multi-keel feet designed using the extended LLTE framework withstood ISO fatigue and static tests, validating their durability. Given their single-part 2D extruded geometries, multi-keel feet designed with the extended LLTE framework could be cost-effectively manufactured, providing affordable and durable high-performance prostheses that improves the mobility of LMIC users.

scholarly journals Design and Preliminary Testing of a Prototype for Evaluating Lower Leg Trajectory Error as an Optimization Metric for Prosthetic Feet

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Olesnavage ◽  
Amos G. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Lower Leg ◽  
Clinical Testing ◽  
Trajectory Error ◽  
Preliminary Testing ◽  
Rigid Structure ◽  
Prosthetic Foot ◽  
Constant Stiffness ◽  
Prosthetic Feet ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Novel Design

This work presents the design and preliminary testing of a prosthetic foot prototype intended for evaluating a novel design objective for passive prosthetic feet, the Lower Leg Trajectory Error (LLTE). Thus far, all work regarding LLTE has been purely theoretical. The next step is to perform extensive clinical testing. An initial prototype consisting of rotational ankle and metatarsal joints with constant rotational stiffness was optimized and built, but at 2 kg it proved too heavy to use in clinical testing. A new conceptual foot architecture intended to reduce the weight of the final prototype is presented and optimized for LLTE. This foot consists of a rotational ankle joint with constant stiffness of 6.1 N·m/deg, a rigid structure extending 0.08 m from the ankle-knee axis, and a cantilever beam forefoot with bending stiffness 5.4 N·m2. A prototype was built using machined delrin for the rigid structure, three parallel extension springs offset along a constant radius cam from a pin joint ankle, and machined nylon as the beam forefoot. In preliminary testing, it was determined that, despite efforts to minimize weight and size, this particular design was still too heavy and bulky as a result of the extension springs to be used in extensive clinical testing. Future work will focus on reducing the weight further by replacing linear extension springs with flexural elements before commencing with the clinical study.

scholarly journals Numerical Analysis and Fabrication of Battery Holder for Two Wheelers

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-131
Author(s):  
K. N Chethan ◽  
V Sabarinathan ◽  
R Vivek Ram ◽  
G. T Mahesh
Keyword(s):  
Injection Moulding ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Nylon 6 ◽  
Nylon 66 ◽  
Weather Resistance ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Two Wheeler ◽  
The Impact

The high-performance plastics usage is increasing in the automobile field because of its advantages over other metals and alloys. Corrosion resistance, light weight, low cost, flexibility in design are the major advantages of plastics above the conventional metallic materials. In this paper a metal version component converted into plastic version in order to increase efficiency, reduce the overall cost of a two-wheeler and to improve the production rate of component. Different types of material such as PP + 15% TALC, PP + 30% GF, PP + 30% TALC, Nylon 6 + 15% GF, Nylon 66 UF, Nylon 6 UF, Nylon 66 + 30% GF, ASA LI941 and ASA LI913 tested for 10,000km road test, vibration test and fitment test. An injection moulding used to produce the component and ‘Mouldx3D’ software was used for mould flow analysis and other simulation. The different parts of injection moulding tool made up of C45, P20 and D2 materials. Among different materials, ASA LI913 was selected since it has better weather resistance than others and the impact strength matched to metal version component. Finally, it was found that the cost of the component made of Plastic considerably less than same component made of metal.

scholarly journals Analysis on Nylon 6/6 Camshaft Gear Temperature Simulation In A 1.1 Kva Elepaq Generator Using Inventor and ANSYS

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Olalekan Abdulrahim Sanni ◽  
Sunday Ayoola Oke
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Global Minimum ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Nylon 6 ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Global Maximum ◽  
Material Choice ◽  
Safe Limits ◽  
Available Information

<p class="02abstracttext">Camshaft gear temperature simulations are presently crucial as they offer a distinctive visual account of the temperature profile within the generator, they permit superior manufacturing assessment and the design of heat-resistant camshaft gear with high performance and low cost. However, available information to designers is inadequate as they omit the approximate global maximum temperature, particularly for the nylon 6/6 camshaft gear in a 1.1 kVA elepaq generator. In this article, the idea is to simulate and account for the global minimum and maximum temperature using the Inventor and ANSYS software. The stress-induced on the generator was considered. The results of the simulation revealed an approximate global maximum temperature of the nylon 6/6 camshaft gear as 37°C max with 22°C min. Furthermore, the global minimum at 35°C max with 21°C min was considered. Besides, the structural steel global maximum of 38°C max, 25°C min and global minimum 35°C max, 24°C min. The stress values did not exceed 0.1419 MPa on ANSYS but the ANSYS revealed that the camshaft gear strain was within safe limits. The simulation approach predicts the minimum and maximum temperature of the nylon 6/6 camshaft gear and the stress and strain values. The utility of this attempt is to help designers to implement effective decisions on material choice and design parameters for optimisation, performance and low-cost design.</p>

scholarly journals Experimental Demonstration of the Lower Leg Trajectory Error Framework Using Physiological Data as Inputs

2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Olesnavage ◽  
Victor Prost ◽  
William Brett Johnson ◽  
Matthew J. Major ◽  
Amos G. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Design ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Physiological Data ◽  
Vertical Position ◽  
Trajectory Error ◽  
Ankle Stiffness ◽  
Rms Error ◽  
Prosthetic Feet ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Error Testing

Abstract While many studies have attempted to characterize the mechanical behavior of passive prosthetic feet to understand their influence on amputee gait, the relationship between mechanical design and biomechanical performance has not yet been fully articulated from a fundamental physics perspective. A novel framework, called lower leg trajectory error (LLTE) framework, presents a means of quantitatively optimizing the constitutive model of prosthetic feet to match a reference kinematic and kinetic dataset. This framework can be used to predict the required stiffness and geometry of a prosthesis to yield a desired biomechanical response. A passive prototype foot with adjustable ankle stiffness was tested by a unilateral transtibial amputee to evaluate this framework. The foot condition with LLTE-optimal ankle stiffness enabled the user to replicate the physiological target dataset within 16% root-mean-square (RMS) error. Specifically, the measured kinematic variables matched the target kinematics within 4% RMS error. Testing a range of ankle stiffness conditions from 1.5 to 24.4 N·m/deg with the same user indicated that conditions with lower LLTE values deviated the least from the target kinematic data. Across all conditions, the framework predicted the horizontal/vertical position, and angular orientation of the lower leg during midstance within 1.0 cm, 0.3 cm, and 1.5 deg, respectively. This initial testing suggests that prosthetic feet designed with low LLTE values could offer benefits to users. The LLTE framework is agnostic to specific foot designs and kinematic/kinetic user targets, and could be used to design and customize prosthetic feet.

scholarly journals Design and Testing of a Prosthetic Foot With Interchangeable Custom Springs for Evaluating Lower Leg Trajectory Error, an Optimization Metric for Prosthetic Feet

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Prost ◽  
Kathryn M. Olesnavage ◽  
W. Brett Johnson ◽  
Matthew J. Major ◽  
Amos G. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Range Of Motion ◽  
Ankle Joint ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Joint Stiffness ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Trajectory Error ◽  
Prosthetic Foot ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
Prosthetic Feet

An experimental prosthetic foot intended for evaluating a novel design objective is presented. This objective, called the lower leg trajectory error (LLTE), enables the optimization of passive prosthetic feet by modeling the trajectory of the shank during single support for a given prosthetic foot and selecting design variables that minimize the error between this trajectory and able-bodied kinematics. A light-weight, fully characterized test foot with variable ankle joint stiffness was designed to evaluate the LLTE. The test foot can replicate the range of motion of a physiological ankle over a range of different ankle joint stiffnesses. The test foot consists of a rotational ankle joint machined from acetal resin, interchangeable U-shaped nylon springs that range from 1.5 N · m/deg to 24 N · m/deg, and a flexible nylon forefoot with a bending stiffness of 16 N · m2. The U-shaped springs were designed to support a constant moment along their length to maximize strain energy density; this feature was critical in creating a high-stiffness and high-range of motion ankle. The design performed as predicted during mechanical and in vivo testing, and its modularity allowed us to rapidly vary the ankle joint stiffness. Qualitative feedback from preliminary testing showed that this design is ready for use in large scale clinical trials to further evaluate the use of the LLTE as an optimization objective for passive prosthetic feet.

scholarly journals Design and Testing of a Prosthetic Foot Prototype With Interchangeable Custom Rotational Springs to Adjust Ankle Stiffness for Evaluating Lower Leg Trajectory Error, an Optimization Metric for Prosthetic Feet

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Prost ◽  
Kathryn M. Olesnavage ◽  
Amos G. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Method ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Trajectory Error ◽  
Preliminary Testing ◽  
Design Objective ◽  
Rigid Structure ◽  
Prosthetic Foot ◽  
Constant Stiffness ◽  
Ankle Stiffness ◽  
Prosthetic Feet

A prosthetic foot prototype intended for evaluating a novel design objective for passive prosthetic feet, the Lower Leg Trajectory Error (LLTE), is presented. This metric enables the optimization of prosthetic feet by modeling the trajectory of the lower leg segment throughout a step for a given prosthetic foot and selecting design variables to minimize the error between this trajectory and target physiological lower leg kinematics. Thus far, previous work on the LLTE has mainly focused on optimizing conceptual foot architectures. To further study this metric, extensive clinical testing on prototypes optimized using this method has to be performed. Initial prototypes replicating the LLTE-optimal designs in previous work were optimized and built, but at 1.3 to 2.1 kg they proved too heavy and bulky to be considered for testing. A new, fully-characterized foot design reducing the weight of the final prototype while enabling ankle stiffness to be varied is presented and optimized for LLTE. The novel merits of this foot are that it can replicate a similar quasi-stiffness and range of motion of a physiological ankle, and be tested with variable ankle stiffnesses to test their effect on LLTE. The foot consists of a rotational ankle joint with interchangeable U-shaped constant stiffness springs ranging from 1.5 Nm/deg to 16 Nm/deg, a rigid structure extending 0.093 m from the ankle-knee axis, and a cantilever beam forefoot with a bending stiffness of 16 Nm2. The prototype was built using machined acetal resin for the rigid structure, custom nylon springs for the ankle, and a nylon beam forefoot. In preliminary testing, this design performed as predicted and its modularity allowed us to rapidly change the springs to vary the ankle stiffness of the foot. Qualitative feedback from preliminary testing showed that this design is ready to be used in larger-scale studies. In future work, extensive clinical studies with testing different ankle stiffnesses will be conducted to validate the optimization method using the LLTE as a design objective.

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