Design and clinical implementation of an open-source bionic leg

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Robotics
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Robotic prostheses offer potential benefits for individuals with lower-limb amputations, including improved walking speed and reduced fall risk.
• Current prosthetic control strategies are limited by testing in constrained lab settings and varied hardware.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement an integrated robotic knee-ankle prosthesis for real-world biomechanics and control strategy testing.
• To provide an open-source, customizable hardware and software solution for prosthetic research.

Main Methods:

• Developed an open-source, integrated robotic knee-ankle prosthesis with customizable hardware and software.
• Characterized electromechanical and thermal performance through benchtop testing.
• Evaluated kinematics and kinetics in three amputees during level ground, ramp, and stair ambulation.

Main Results:

• The bionic leg demonstrated customizable design, enabling reduced mass, cost, and improved ease of use.
• Independent knee and ankle joint operation was achieved.
• Benchtop and in-vivo testing provided benchmark data for real-world prosthetic performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed open-source robotic prosthesis facilitates real-world testing of biomechanics and control strategies.
• This integrated hardware solution and benchmark data can advance research and clinical testing of knee-ankle prostheses.