Design and Development of a Low Cost Semi-Active Knee Prostheses for Amputees

Abstract

Most above-knee prosthetic device solutions proposed in recent times have either been too expensive, thereby making them inaccessible to the masses; or too primitive, thereby limiting their utility to the user. We propose an above-knee prosthesis that optimally balances the trade-off between price and functionality to deliver a high-performance product, accessible to almost everyone who needs it. This will take the form of the ability of the prosthesis to deliver optimum performance at a range of walking speeds. Modification of the state of the energy-storage element – the spring – is used to achieve this.