252 results about "Prosthetic feet" patented technology

An ankle joint and a subtalar joint provided in a hindfoot permit closed kinetic chain motion of the foot. The ankle and subtalar joints are preferably formed integrally with the hindfoot by respective struts of resilient material of the hindfoot. An arch in the midfoot creates frontal and sagittal plane motion capabilities. The forefoot includes at least one expansion joint hole extending therethrough between dorsal and plantar surfaces. An expansion joint extends forward from the hole to the anterior edge of the forefoot to form plural expansion struts that create improved biplanar motion capability of the forefoot. Concavities and convexities on the surface of the hindfoot, midfoot and forefoot encourage desired motions and motion directions so that the foot functions and feels like a normal foot to the amputee.

A simple, inexpensive prosthetic foot is provided incorporating a cushioned ankle including an ankle block formed of a resilient material or bladder having desired compliance and energy return characteristics. The ankle block is sandwiched between a foot element and an ankle element. One or more openings extends through the ankle block with a substantially transverse orientation relative to a forward walking motion. The size and shape of these openings, as well as the insertion of different types of stiffeners therein, provide desired performance characteristics to the ankle block. When the ankle block takes the form of one or more inflatable bladders, the pressure within these bladders is individually controlled by valves to provide desired performance characteristics to different portions of the prosthetic foot. A pump system can also be used to control and generate fluid pressure into these bladders. A preferred pump system generates fluid pressure based upon the movement of the amputee onto two telescoping pylons that are connected to the prosthetic foot.

A low profile prosthetic foot comprises a foot member extending at an incline from an anterior portion to a posterior portion thereof and configured to flex during motion, and an adapter mounted solely at a posterior section thereof to the posterior portion of the foot member so that the adapter's anterior section can move relative to the foot member and “roll-up” onto the foot member during motion.

A prosthetic foot with an adjustable ankle includes an upper portion coupled to a socket of an amputee. A lower portion is adjustably coupled to the upper portion, and is attached to a foot member with heel and toe sections. A movable coupling is disposed between the upper and lower portions, and includes a displacement member slidably coupled to a displacement track. The movable coupling allows the toe section to pivot downward and the heel section to simultaneously displace forward. The adjustable ankle can be adjusted with an actuator coupled to a tractor bolt coupled between the upper and lower portions. A sensor is associated with the upper portion or the lower portion to sense frequency of contact, force of contact, or orientation of the upper portion or the lower portion, and to output a corresponding output signal.

A low profile prosthetic foot comprises a foot member extending at an incline from an anterior portion to a posterior portion thereof and configured to flex during motion, and an adapter mounted solely at a posterior section thereof to the posterior portion of the foot member so that the adapter's anterior section can move relative to the foot member and “roll-up” onto the foot member during motion.

A prosthetic foot with an adjustable ankle includes an upper portion coupled to a socket of an amputee. A lower portion is adjustably coupled to the upper portion, and is attached to a foot member with heel and toe sections. A movable coupling is disposed between the upper and lower portions, and includes a displacement member slidably coupled to a displacement track. The movable coupling allows the toe section to pivot downward and the heel section to simultaneously displace forward.

A prosthetic foot having an adjustable height heel includes a frame portion with an ankle link pivotally supported on the frame portion at a first pivot axis. A detent rod is pivotally connected to the ankle at a second pivot axis, and a detent member is pivotally affixed to the frame portion at a third pivot axis. The detent member is selectively operable to receive and releasably retain a length of the detent rod therein so that the length of the detent rod extending between the second and third pivot axes may be selectably adjusted. When the length of the rod is so adjusted, the angular relationship of the frame portion and the ankle link is changed thereby changing the heel height of the foot. The detent mechanism may be activated by various means including fluidic means, mechanical means, electromechanical means, and the like.

A prosthetic foot device with variable stiffness response includes a variable energy transfer mechanism or variable resistance cell disposed between first and second foot members to transfer a variable amount of energy from the second member to the first member during use. The energy transfer mechanism or variable resistance cell includes a variable orifice with variable size to variably resist flow of fluid therethrough, and thus variably transfers energy between the first and second members to vary stiffness of the prosthetic foot device.

A method of measuring the performance of a prosthetic foot includes obtaining a pressure distribution of the prosthetic foot during a motion of the prosthetic foot and determining whether the pressure distribution falls within a preselected range of performance values for the prosthetic foot. The pressure distribution comprises a trajectory illustrating the progression of a center of pressure of the prosthetic foot during motion. A prosthetic foot can also be designed to approximate a pressure distribution corresponding to a preselected range of performance values.

A prosthetic foot including a ground-engaging base in the form of a generally planar and resiliently flexible foot bed which extends between two or more platforms to form one or more flexible hinges therebetween. The platforms include a toe platform, a mid-section platform and a heel platform. A support shank is disposed above the platforms so as to be generally positioned above an ankle area of the foot. A first spring extends from the toe platform to the support shank. A second spring extends from the support shank to the mid-section platform. A third spring extends from the support shank to the heel platform. Typically, the springs are curvilinear springs.

A prosthetic foot with an adjustable ankle includes an upper portion coupled to a socket of an amputee. A lower portion is adjustably coupled to the upper portion, and is attached to a foot member with heel and toe sections. A movable coupling is disposed between the upper and lower portions, and includes a displacement member slidably coupled to a displacement track. The movable coupling allows the toe section to pivot downward and the heel section to simultaneously displace forward. The adjustable ankle can be adjusted with a motor coupled to a tractor bolt coupled between the upper and lower portions. A level sensor can sense the orientation of the upper portion and send a signal to operate the motor to vertically orient the upper portion or level the foot.

A prosthetic foot (64) incorporates a foot keel (65) and a calf shank (73) connected to the foot keel to form an ankle joint area (74) of the prosthetic foot. The foot keel has forefoot and hindfoot portions (67, 66) and a relatively long midfoot portion (68) extending between and upwardly arched from the forefoot and midfoot portions. The calf shank includes a downward convexly curved lower end which is attached at a portion thereof to the keel midfoot portion by way of an adjustable fastener arrangement (75). The adjustable fastener arrangement permits adjustment of the alignment of the calf shank and the foot keel with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of the foot keel for tuning the performance of the prosthetic foot. The upwardly arched midportion of the foot keel, in addition to absorbing energy from vertical loading by expansion, can be formed with a coiled spring (69) which is compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the prosthetic in wide range of activities from walking to running and jumping.

A prosthetic foot device with variable stiffness response includes a variable energy transfer mechanism disposed between first and second foot members to transfer a variable amount of energy between the members during use. A chamber is associated with one of the first and second foot members, and a piston is associated with another of the first and second foot members and is movable in the chamber. At least one aperture is formed between the piston and the chamber. A variable viscosity fluid is disposed in the chamber and displaceable through the at least one aperture between the piston and the chamber to allow fluid to flow within the chamber between opposite sides of the piston. The variable viscosity fluid has a viscosity that is variable to vary an ability of the variable viscosity fluid to flow through the at least one aperture.

An adjusting mechanism alters the heel height on a prosthetic foot, and works independently of any articulating ankle joint or foot style, without changing the original dynamic alignment of a prosthetic leg. In a two chamber hydraulic closed system—a fluid material is allowed to flow through the two chambers by use of pistons that push the fluid material equally from one chamber to another until the desired heel height is obtained. Once the correct position is obtained, the ports are closed by use of a push button stop, which closes the ports and stops all transfer of fluid between the ports holding the heel in position during use.