Evaluation and Design of a Globally Applicable Rear-locking Prosthetic Knee Mechanism

• Main Author: Wyss, Dominik
• Other Authors: Cleghorn, William L.
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Prosthetic; Stance-phase; Knee; Stability; Amputee; Joint; 0548; 0541
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/33575

A rear locking prosthetic knee joint with a durable, rear Automatic Stance-Phase Lock (ASPL), was developed to investigate the versatility of the (ASPL) mechanism in improving the functionality of prosthetic knees appropriate for a global market. An international survey and a Quality Function Deployment identified deficits with existing prosthetic knee mechanisms and established the most influential design parameters. Work on the knee design was completed following a comparative stability analysis of different knee mechanisms which justified the initial design. Solid models were generated with computer design software and a prototype was produced and structurally tested. Finally, clinical pilot testing was conducted on a unilateral transfemoral amputee, and various gait variables were assessed. As hypothesized, the knee performed close to the level of a conventional six-bar knee providing highly effective stance-phase control and the pilot test showed that improvements to the swing-phase response could further reduce the asymmetry of gait.