Preliminary Analysis Of Positive Knee Energy Injection In A Transfemoral Amputee Walking With A Powered Prosthesis

Individuals with lower limb amputations show higher metabolic costs during ambulation than able-bodied individuals. This high metabolic cost may be explained by the inability of available passive prostheses to replicate the biomechanics of intact legs during walking. Powered prostheses promise to address this issue by imitating the power generation of intact legs. Several studies have investigated the effect of power generation and energy injection at the ankle joint in transtibial amputees. In contrast, no study has directly addressed knee power generation in transfemoral amputees. This study investigates the effect of knee power generation in late stance in one transfemoral amputee subject using a lightweight powered prosthesis. Experimental results suggest that injecting positive energy into the gait cycle at the knee level may improve gait ability by reducing effort.