Abstract
The knee joint is a complex structure that plays a significant role in the human lower limb for locomotion activities in daily living. However, we are still not quite there yet where we can replicate the functions of the knee bones and the attached ligaments to a significant degree of success. This paper presents the current trend in the development of knee joints based on bio-inspiration concepts and modern bio-inspired knee joints in the research field of prostheses, power-assist suits and mobile robots. The paper also reviews the existing literature to describe major turning points during the development of hardware and control systems associated with bio-inspired knee joints. The anatomy and biomechanics of the knee joint are initially presented. Then the latest bio-inspired knee joints developed within the last 10 years are briefly reviewed based on bone structure, muscle and ligament structure and control strategies. A leg exoskeleton is then introduced for enhancing the functionality of the human lower limb that lacks muscle power. The design consideration, novelty of the design and the working principle of the proposed knee joint are summarized. Furthermore, the simulation results and experimental results are also presented and analyzed. Finally, the paper concludes with design difficulties, design considerations and future directions on bio-inspired knee joint design. The aim of this paper is to be a starting point for researchers keen on understanding the developments throughout the years in the field of bio-inspired knee joints.
Highlights
The knee joint is one of the largest joints with a complex structure in the human body and performs a crucial role in many activities of daily living (ADLs) such as standing, walking, running and climbing stairs
The results show that the exoskeleton knee joint provides an acceptable performance, more assertive experiments need to be done in the form of real world tests such as mechanical stress test, range of motion test using an actuator and controller, and performance tests while the joint is being used by a person
This paper briefly review the hardware designs and control strategies of modern bio-inspired knee joints found in the research field of rehabilitation, power-assist suits and mobile robots
Summary
The knee joint is one of the largest joints with a complex structure in the human body and performs a crucial role in many activities of daily living (ADLs) such as standing, walking, running and climbing stairs. Given the complexity of biomechanics and structure of the lower extremity, it is extremely hard to replace a missing lower limb in the human body with a transfemoral (above knee) prosthesis. Human gait analysis is crucial in designing a lower limb prosthesis and the human gait can be divided to two phases; stance and swing (Agostini et al, 2014). There are passive prosthetic knee joints that are used in transfemoral prostheses to support walking by restricting knee flexion during stance phase and releasing the flexion at swing phase (Dabiri et al, 2010).
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