Post on 02-Jan-2016
Active Ankle Foot Orthotic Tester
Stephen Rugg
Ankle foot orthotics are used by individuals who have foot drop syndrome
Foot drop syndrome is the inability to flex your foot up while walking
Background
Source (4)
Christopher Sullivan did research on terrain detection to try and improve ankle foot orthotics
Currently 2 MSD teams are designing active ankle foot orthotics to implement his terrain detection technology
Background
Source (1)
Source (2)
Customer Need # Importance* DescriptionCN1 1 Adjusted for different sized orthoticsCN2 1 Support the active ankle foot orthoticCN3 1 Move along the path a human leg follows while walkingCN4 1 Physically similar to the action of someone's foot who has foot dropCN5 1 Have foot impact the surfaceCN6 1 Easily adjust the settings of the leg motion.CN7 1 Last for 3 years of testingCN8 1 Be able to adjust to a flat, inclined, and declined surfaceCN9 1 Able to move the entire device
CN10 1 Have diognostic capabilitiesCN11 1 Output and display the critical parametersCN12 2 Be able to adjust the walking speedCN13 2 User interface is easy to useCN15 3 Aesthetically pleasing
Customer NeedsDeliverable: Testing mechanism that will accurately mimic the motions a leg makes while walking
Potential Concepts
Motion of a Leg
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40Angle of Lower Leg Rotation Throughout Level Walking Cycle (Adult)
Ang
le (
degr
ees)
Fraction of Walking Cycle
Normal
Extra Slow
SlowMedium
Fast
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 10.5
1
1.5
2Different Walking Paths from IR Perspective
Period
Vol
tage
(V
)
Level Walking
Down RampUp Ramp
Budget
4 Mechanical Engineers◦ Structural Design◦ LabView Programming◦ Matlab Programming◦ Control System Design◦ Vibrations◦ GD&T
Staffing
2 Electrical Engineers◦ Control Systems◦ Signal Processing◦ Motor Selection◦ Data Collection
1. Gordon KE, Sawicki GS, Ferris DP. Mechanical performance of artificial pneumatic muscles to power an ankle-foot orthosis. Journal of Biomechanics 2006;39(10):1832-1841.
2. http://www.freemanmfg.com/product_info.php?products_id=424&osCsid=7a2e25fe5bc3acab82b7901458b59053
3. Sullivan, Christopher. Design of a Terrain Detection System for Foot Drop. RIT Master’s Thesis. 2012
4. http://www.ctoplp.com/products.html
References