Design and testing of a low-cost exoskeletal trans-femoral prosthetic knee device for use in developing countries

Prosthetic devices are designed for amputees in developed countries, made with materials, mechanisms, and research budgets prohibitive to individuals and communities in developing countries. A prosthetic knee for trans-femoral amputees is developed at MIT and tested on patients at the Jaipur Foot Organization in Delhi, India. By using kinematic models of the knee, information was gathered on the feasibility of incorporating a stance-flex knee flexion mechanism in the design. Results show an increase in the flexion torque required to buckle the device in stance phase, resulting in a more reliable gait for the amputee. It is concluded that the prototype designed is a feasible alternative to current knee technology present in developing countries, although incorporation of a stance-flex mechanism is not possible within the confines of the current design.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Sartee, Jared Asher

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hugh Herr.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54512

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/54512