Initial Biomechanical Analysis and Modeling of Transfemoral Amputee Gait

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of hydraulic knee controller deterioration on the gait of a single transfemoral amputee subject. As such, this should be considered a preliminary study. A set of gait experiments was developed and conducted to achieve this purpose. Although the subject did feel the difference between the deteriorated hydraulic controllers, no substantial deterioration trends were isolated in the kinematic or kinetic data collected at various stages of knee controller deterioration. A large variability was observed in the baseline gait trials that were recorded on different days. To eliminate the variability, a dynamic model of transfemoral amputee gait was developed based on the experimental data. The model predictions of ground reaction forces showed good agreement with experimental data. The effectiveness of the model was validated.