A computer simulation of prosthetic knee dynamics

Abstract

The goal of this study was to elucidate the effect of prosthetic knee stiffness and damping alternation on its flexion, during swing phase of transfemoral amputee gait. The prosthetic leg was simulated as a two-degree of freedom pendulum. Using MSC ADAMS software, an inverse dynamics simulation was carried out to calculate the stiffness and damping of the prosthetic knee to produce normal knee flexion angle. In addition, values of prosthetic knee flexion angle, when its stiffness and damping were varied, were calculated. Results show that to produce a near-normal knee flexion angle, these parameters should be within a specific range. However, in comparison to the biological knee, lacking the capability of power generation in a prosthetic knee, prevents it from producing the normal flexion angle. © 2010 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.