<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>It has been recognized that that the design and prescription of Energy Storing and Returning prosthetic running feet are not well understood and that further information on their performance would be beneficial to increase this understanding. Dynamic analysis of an amputee wearing a prosthetic foot is typically performed using reflective markers and motion-capture systems. High-speed cameras and force plates are used to collect data of a few strides. This requires specialized and expensive equipment in an unrepresentative environment within a large area. Inertial Measurement Units are also capable of being used as wearable sensors but suffer from drift issues. This paper presents the development of a wearable sensing system that records the action of an Energy Storing and Returning prosthetic running foot (sagittal plane displacement and ground contact position) which could have research and/or clinical applications. This is achieved using five standalone pieces of apparatus including foot-mounted pressure sensors and a rotary vario-resistive displacement transducer. It is demonstrated, through the collection of profiles for both foot deflection and ground contact point over the duration of a stride, that the system can be attached to an amputee’s prosthesis and used in a non-laboratory environment. It was found from the system that the prosthetic ground contact point, for the amputee tested, progresses along the effective metatarsal portion of the prosthetic foot towards the distal end of the prosthesis over the duration of the stride. Further investigation of the effective stiffness changes of the foot due to the progression of the contact point is warranted.</p></abstract>

It has been recognized that that the design and prescription of Energy Storing and Returning prosthetic running feet are not well understood and that further information on their performance would be beneficial to increase this understanding. Dynamic analysis of an amputee wearing a prosthetic foot is typically performed using reflective markers and motion-capture systems. High-speed cameras and force plates are used to collect data of a few strides. This requires specialized and expensive equipment in an unrepresentative environment within a large area. Inertial Measurement Units are also capable of being used as wearable sensors but suffer from drift issues. This paper presents the development of a wearable sensing system that records the action of an Energy Storing and Returning prosthetic running foot (sagittal plane displacement and ground contact position) which could have research and/or clinical applications. This is achieved using five standalone pieces of apparatus including foot-mounted pressure sensors and a rotary vario-resistive displacement transducer. It is demonstrated, through the collection of profiles for both foot deflection and ground contact point over the duration of a stride, that the system can be attached to an amputee’s prosthesis and used in a non-laboratory environment. It was found from the system that the prosthetic ground contact point, for the amputee tested, progresses along the effective metatarsal portion of the prosthetic foot towards the distal end of the prosthesis over the duration of the stride. Further investigation of the effective stiffness changes of the foot due to the progression of the contact point is warranted.

Development of a Wearable Sensor System for Dynamically Mapping the Behavior of an Energy Storing and Returning Prosthetic Foot

Department of Design and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, BH12 5BB, Poole, Dorset, UK

Measurement Science Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

It has been recognized that that the design and prescription of Energy Storing and Returning prosthetic running feet are not well understood and that further...

Development of a Wearable Sensor System for Dynamically Mapping the Behavior of an Energy Storing and Returning Prosthetic Foot

Published Online: Jun 11, 2016

Page range: 174 - 182

Received: Feb 01, 2016

Accepted: May 31, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/msr-2016-0021

Keywords
Assistive devices, biomedical measurements, displacement measurement, force measurement, gait analysis, prosthetic limbs, wearable sensors

© 2016 James Hawkins et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Development of a Wearable Sensor System for Dynamically Mapping the Behavior of an Energy Storing and Returning Prosthetic Foot

Published Online: Jun 11, 2016

Page range: 174 - 182

Received: Feb 01, 2016

Accepted: May 31, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/msr-2016-0021

KeywordsAssistive devices, biomedical measurements, displacement measurement, force measurement, gait analysis, prosthetic limbs, wearable sensors

© 2016 James Hawkins et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Assistive devices, biomedical measurements, displacement measurement, force measurement, gait analysis, prosthetic limbs, wearable sensors