3D Printed Passive Compliant and Articulating Prosthetic Ankle Foot

Abstract

The human ankle is crucial to mobility as it counteracts the forces and moments created during walking. Around 85% of the 1.7 million people in the United States living with limb loss are transtibial (below knee) and transfemoral (above knee) amputees who are missing their ankle and require a prosthetic. This paper presents the Compliant and Articulating Prosthetic Ankle (CAPA) foot, a solution that uses torsional springs to store and release energy at three different locations on the mechanism, assisting in forward motion. The CAPA foot utilizes 3D printing and allows for the full ankle range of motion in the sagittal plane. Testing was performed with the CAPA foot on the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment on an able-bodied person wearing a prosthetic simulator. Compared to the conventional non-articulating Solid Ankle Cushioned Heel foot, the CAPA foot is shown to better mimic the ground reaction forces and ankle angles of a healthy gait.