Development of an ankle-foot prosthesis for physical therapy

Abstract

A novel ankle-foot prosthesis with adjustable range-of-motion limits was developed to support implementation of gradual training protocols in the physical therapy of new amputees. Stakeholder interviews drove design requirements that guided the development. Our first prototype did not pass structural strength testing, but with minor revisions to some components, our second prototype was able to pass structural strength testing to the P6 load level (125kg user) of the ISO 10328 standard for prosthetic feet. The system is ready for laboratory testing with prosthesis users and clinicians to generate further insight for future design iterations.