Artificial Foot Makes Walking Easier for Amputees
Katie Cordrey — February 22, 2010 — Tech
References: physorg & plosone.org
An energy-recycling artificial foot redirects energy that is usually wasted between steps to make walking easier for amputees. The foot’s creators, Kuo and Steve Collins, engineered a way to put the 23% of walking energy wasted with a standard prosthesis to work increasing the push-off power of the ankle. A microcontroller properly times and routes the captured energy to the prosthetic foot system to make the increased push-off power possible.
The Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center is currently testing the artificial foot and an Ann Arbor company is considering a variation of the energy-recycling prosthetics design for commercial production.
The Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center is currently testing the artificial foot and an Ann Arbor company is considering a variation of the energy-recycling prosthetics design for commercial production.
Trend Themes
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Energy-recycling Prosthetics — Opportunity for developing innovative prosthetic technologies that recycle and redirect wasted walking energy.
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Improved Mobility for Amputees — Opportunity for creating technologies that enhance walking abilities and increase quality of life for amputees.
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Efficient Energy Management in Prosthetics — Opportunity for developing energy-efficient prosthetic devices that optimize power usage.
Industry Implications
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Healthcare — Opportunity for healthcare companies to invest in research and development of energy-recycling prosthetics.
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Prosthetics Manufacturing — Opportunity for prosthetics manufacturing companies to integrate energy-recycling technologies into their product offerings.
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Medical Device Technology — Opportunity for medical device technology companies to develop innovative energy management systems for prosthetic devices.
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