Active Transfemoral Prosthesis Research Articles

An Underactuated Active Transfemoral Prosthesis With Series Elastic Actuators Enables Multiple Locomotion Tasks

An Underactuated Active Transfemoral Prosthesis With Series Elastic Actuators Enables Multiple Locomotion Tasks

The control methods of Knee‐Ankle‐Toe Active Transfemoral Prosthesis in stance phase

AbstractIn this paper, a Knee‐Ankle‐Toe Active Transfemoral Prosthesis (KATATP) is designed for improving the walking performance of the amputees. The main contents are as follows: First, the mechanical model of the prosthesis with three joints is established to help analyze the kinematics and dynamics characteristics of the joints; second, the Drive Torque Calculation cell is proposed to calculate the torque required for the movement of prosthesis joints; third, the motor, which provides the desired torque, drives the prosthesis; finally, experimental results indicate that the KATATP can help the amputee obtain more natural and symmetrical walking gaits. Moreover, the plantar pressure information of the amputated side is close to that of the sound side.

Model-free robust adaptive integral sliding mode impedance control of knee-ankle-toe active transfemoral prosthesis.

Wearing appropriate active prosthesis is the guarantee of daily life for amputees. Normally the controller of the traditional active transfemoral prosthesis is designed based on the mathematical model. The modelling error and the external interference will reduce the control accuracy of the system and make the prosthesis unable to operate in the desired trajectory. Firstly, combined with time delay estimation (TDE), a model-free robust integral sliding mode impedance controller is designed. This method not only suppress the impedance error, but also eliminate the nonlinear relationship and disturbance in the dynamic model. Secondly, an adaptive law is proposed to update the controller gain, which provide stable control effect. Thirdly, the stability of prosthesis closed-loop system is proved by Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the motor torque is used to drive each joint, and Matlab/Simscape is used to verify the prosthesis control system. From the result of the simulation experiment, the control method has a good tracking effect on each joint. The root mean square error and mean absolute errors of each joint's angle tracking error are 0.6123°, 1.9976°, 0.5574° and 0.2635°, 1.8175°, 0.4796°. Compared with the controller without adaptive gain and impedance control, the control effect is improved, and the plantar pressure of amputees is closer to the sound side. Comparing the results of different controllers, the adaptive integral sliding mode impedance controller with TDE can better track the expected angles of each joint. The gait is more normal. The walking performance of the prosthesis wearers is improved.

Nonlinear observer-based optimal control of an active transfemoral prosthesis

This paper designs a joint controller/observer framework using a state dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) approach for an active transfemoral prosthesis system. An integral state control technique is utilized to design a tracking controller for a robot/prosthesis system. This framework promises a systematic flexible design using which multiple design specifications such as robustness, state estimation, and control optimality are achieved without the need for model linearization. Performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated through simulation studies, which show improvements versus a robust adaptive impedance controller and an extended Kalman filter-based state estimation method. Numerical results confirm the benefits of our method over the above-mentioned approaches with regard to control optimality and state estimation.

ПЛАНИРОВАНИЕ ДВИЖЕНИЙ МОДУЛЕЙ АКТИВНОГО ТРАНСФЕМОРАЛЬНОГО ПРОТЕЗА С ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕМ МОДИФИЦИРОВАННОЙ МОДЕЛИ МИНИМАЛЬНОГО ИЗМЕНЕНИЯ ВРАЩАЮЩИХ МОМЕНТОВ

It is known that limb movements during human motor activity are very stereotyped, which suggests that the effects of Bernsteins motor synergies are realized under the influence of the central nervous system. In this regard, a hypothesis was proposed about the possibility of synthesizing the so–called synergetic systems for controlling artificial limbs in order to eliminate the problem of their motor redundancy. One of the ways to synthesize such systems is based on the use of experimentally substantiated models that allow optimizing the movements of limb elements or their artificial analogs – prostheses. It was previously shown that the minimum jerk model, the minimum torque change model, and a number of other models, under boundary conditions describing a fixed position in space of the final target point of motion, are quite effective for modeling biosimilar movements of upper limbs. However, such models do not allow taking into account the possible change in the position of the target point in space during the movement. In this work, we evaluated the results of planning the movements of active transfemoral prosthesis at a non–fixed location in the space of the end target point using a modified model of the least change in torques. The use of such a model can be effective, for example, when an obstacle suddenly appears in the path of a disabled person and his intention is to bypass this obstacle. The results of numerical experiments indicate that the modified model of the smallest change in torques makes it possible to plan biosimilar movements of the lower extremities and their artificial analogs – prostheses.

Optimal Sliding Mode Controller for an Active Transfemoral Prosthesis Using State-Dependent Riccati Equation Approach

In this paper, a nonlinear robust optimal controller is designed for an active transfemoral prosthesis using sliding mode control and state-dependent Riccati equation control. In this method, unlike most nonlinear control methods, the Jacobian approach is not used for model linearization and system's state space equations are used directly. This is a reason for the accuracy and flexibility of the proposed controller in design compared to other conventional methods. Since the proposed approach is energy-driven, the main objective of this research is to optimize the energy consumption of the robot/prosthesis system, reduce the effects of disturbances, noise, and parametric uncertainties, and desirable trajectory tracking of the vertical displacement in hip and thigh and knee angles. To this aim, the integral state control technique and the boundary layer are used for reconciliation between tracking performance and control signal chattering. In this study, the performance of the controller is assessed for nominal system and uncertain system with ± 30% parameters’ uncertainty by considering the saturation bounds of control signals. The simulation results demonstrate a decrease in the control effort, good robustness in the presence of uncertainty, and desirable tracking performance compared to a robust adaptive impedance control approach.

Modeling and Control of Knee-Ankle-Toe Active Transfemoral Prosthesis

The main joints of lower limb are hip, knee, ankle, and toe. Because of accidents or diseases, some people have to amputate. Wearing prosthesis can help them return to normal life. In the past, Active Knee joint and Active Knee-Ankle transfemoral prosthesis are studied. While in the stance phase, toe joint play an important role. In this article, the dynamic model and control method of Knee-Ankle-Toe Active Transfemoral Prosthesis are studied. The main contents are as follows: Firstly, according to the ground reaction force, the gait cycle is divided into three phases, Early and Middle Stance Phase (E&MSP), Late Stance Phase (LSP) and Swing Phase (SP), and the mechanical model of Knee-Ankle-Toe Active Transfemoral Prosthesis (KATATP) is established. Secondly, consider the cooperative movement of amputee and prosthesis, the kinematics model of prosthesis is established by Lie Groups and Lie Algebras, and the dynamic model of prosthesis is established by Lagrange equation. Thirdly, the whole gait cycle is a complete system and each phase is a different subsystem, switching rules and controllers of different subsystems are designed. Finally, experiments show that KATAP with the switching control enables amputee to have a biomechanically appropriate walking gait and achieve smooth transition between different gait phases.

The Challenges and Achievements of Experimental Implementation of an Active Transfemoral Prosthesis Based on Biological Quasi-Stiffness: The CYBERLEGs Beta-Prosthesis.

The CYBERLEGs Beta-Prosthesis is an active transfemoral prosthesis that can provide the full torque required for reproducing average level ground walking at both the knee and ankle in the sagittal plane. The prosthesis attempts to produce a natural level ground walking gait that approximates the joint torques and kinematics of a non-amputee while maintaining passively compliant joints, the stiffnesses of which were derived from biological quasi-stiffness measurements. The ankle of the prosthesis consists of a series elastic actuator with a parallel spring and the knee is composed of three different systems that must compliment each other to generate the correct joint behavior: a series elastic actuator, a lockable parallel spring and an energy transfer mechanism. Bench testing of this new prosthesis was completed and demonstrated that the device was able to create the expected torque-angle characteristics for a normal walker under ideal conditions. The experimental trials with four amputees walking on a treadmill to validate the behavior of the prosthesis proved that although the prosthesis could be controlled in a way that allowed all subjects to walk, the accurate timing and kinematic requirements of the output of the device limited the efficacy of using springs with quasi-static stiffnesses. Modification of the control and stiffness of the series springs could provide better performance in future work.

Design optimization of a knee joint for an active transfemoral prosthesis for weight reduction

This paper describes the optimized design of a knee joint for an active transfemoral prosthesis with a fully active knee joint. The active transfemoral prosthesis which can help amputees to walk naturally with a powered motor has been actively developed around the world with advances in battery technology and others. However, most of them are designed for level walking, especially in South Korea, research about active prosthesis is insufficiently carried out, also depends on foreign technology. Therefore, this study focuses on the development of prosthetic knee joint that can overcome complex walking environment including stair walking. The developed prosthesis has one degree of freedom at the knee joint and can mimic the human walking mechanism. The prosthetic knee joint has a simple high-torque mechanism comprising a flat BLDC motor, harmonic drive, and pulley to generate the torque required for walking on stairs, which requires the largest torque. As one of the most important factors for comfort and fatigue, the total weight of the prosthesis should be minimized. Topology optimization was carried out to reduce the weight, and an advanced knee joint design was developed based on the optimization. The structural safety was validated via finite element analysis and a strain experiment under working conditions.

Whole Body Awareness for Controlling a Robotic Transfemoral Prosthesis.

Restoring locomotion functionality of transfemoral amputees is essential for early rehabilitation treatment and for preserving mobility and independence in daily life. Research in wearable robotics fostered the development of innovative active mechatronic lower-limb prostheses designed with the goal to reduce the cognitive and physical effort of lower-limb amputees in rehabilitation and daily life activities. To ensure benefits to the users, active mechatronic prostheses are expected to be aware of the user intention and properly interact in a closed human-in-the-loop paradigm. In the state of the art various cognitive interfaces have been proposed to online decode the user's intention. Electromyography in combination with mechanical sensing such as inertial or pressure sensors is a widely adopted solution for driving active mechatronic prostheses. In this framework, researchers also explored targeted muscles re-innervation for an objective-oriented surgical amputation promoting wider usability of active prostheses. However, information kept by the neural component of the cognitive interface deteriorates in a prolonged use scenario due to electrodes-related issues, thereby undermining the correct functionality of the active prosthesis. The objective of this work is to present a novel controller for an active transfemoral prosthesis based on whole body awareness relying on a wireless distributed non-invasive sensory apparatus acting as cognitive interface. A finite-state machine controller based on signals monitored from the wearable interface performs subject-independent intention detection of functional tasks such as ground level walking, stair ascent, and sit-to-stand maneuvres and their main sub-phases. Experimental activities carried out with four transfemoral amputees (among them one dysvascular) demonstrated high reliability of the controller capable of providing 100% accuracy rate in treadmill walking even for weak subjects and low walking speeds. The minimum success rate was of 94.8% in performing sit-to-stand tasks. All the participants showed high confidence in using the transfemoral active prosthesis even without training period thanks to intuitiveness of the whole body awareness controller.

Adaptive control of powered transfemoral prostheses based on adaptive dynamic programming.

In this study, we developed and tested a novel adaptive controller for powered transfemoral prostheses. Adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) was implemented within the prosthesis control to complement the existing finite state impedance control (FS-IC) in a prototypic active-transfemoral prosthesis (ATP). The ADP controller interacts with the human user-prosthesis system, observes the prosthesis user's dynamic states during walking, and learns to personalize user performance properties via online adaptation to meet the individual user's objectives. The new ADP controller was preliminarily tested on one able-bodied subject walking on a treadmill. The test objective was for the user to approach normative knee kinematics by tuning the FS-IC impedance parameters via ADP. The results showed the ADP was able to adjust the prosthesis controller to generate the desired normative knee kinematics within 10 minutes. In the meantime, the FS-IC impedance parameters converged at the end of the adaptive tuning procedure while maintaining the desired human-prosthesis performance. This study demonstrated the feasibility of ADP for adaptive control of a powered lower limb prosthesis. Future research efforts will address several important issues in order to validate the system on amputees. To achieve this goal, human user-centered performance objective functions will be developed, tested, and used in this adaptive controller design.

Technology efficacy in active prosthetic knees for transfemoral amputees: a quantitative evaluation.

Several studies have presented technological ensembles of active knee systems for transfemoral prosthesis. Other studies have examined the amputees' gait performance while wearing a specific active prosthesis. This paper combined both insights, that is, a technical examination of the components used, with an evaluation of how these improved the gait of respective users. This study aims to offer a quantitative understanding of the potential enhancement derived from strategic integration of core elements in developing an effective device. The study systematically discussed the current technology in active transfemoral prosthesis with respect to its functional walking performance amongst above-knee amputee users, to evaluate the system's efficacy in producing close-to-normal user performance. The performances of its actuator, sensory system, and control technique that are incorporated in each reported system were evaluated separately and numerical comparisons were conducted based on the percentage of amputees' gait deviation from normal gait profile points. The results identified particular components that contributed closest to normal gait parameters. However, the conclusion is limitedly extendable due to the small number of studies. Thus, more clinical validation of the active prosthetic knee technology is needed to better understand the extent of contribution of each component to the most functional development.

Study of the Control of Active Transfemoral Prosthesis Based on CPG

Commercial transfemoral prostheses remain limited to energetically passive devices. Intelligent prostheses still do not replace the power generation capabilities of the missing limb. Active Transfemoral Prosthesis is designed to compensate the movements of transfemoral amputees. Base on the function and principle of huaman lower limb, Active transfemoral prosthesis is designed. Virtual prototype of active transfemoral prosthesis 3D model is built through Solidworks. A dynamical system is used to generate a position trajectory to control a linear motor replacing the missing joint. Hopf oscillator is used to construct a central pattern generator (CPG), which makes up the dynamical system.

Control of the Lower Leg During Walking: A Versatile Model of the Foot

An improved biomechanical model has been implemented for use in gait simulations and functional electrical stimulation (FES). The novelty includes longitudinal bending of the foot which implements geometrical changes that appear "healthy-like" during the stance phase of gait. The simulation uses optimal control which minimizes the activation of flexor and extensor muscles, as well as the tracking error. Correspondingly, the results of the bending foot model, contrasted against a rigid foot biomechanical model, show that torques in the knee during foot contact were as much as 36.9 Nm (46.1%) lower, while muscle excitation was on average 6.1% lower. The simulation also shows that the shank angle of the bending foot model was virtually identical to that of the rigid foot model. However, this model's worth is most prevalent in its use for stance phase control in individuals who use multichannel FES. Notably, it can also be used for simulating the gait of individuals who lack ankle articulation and use an active transfemoral prosthesis.