The human ankle-foot system conforms to a circular effective rocker shape for walking, but to a much flatter effective shape for standing and swaying. Many persons with lower limb amputations have impaired balance and reduced balance confidence, and may benefit from prostheses designed to provide flatter effective rocker shapes during standing and swaying tasks. This paper describes the development and testing of an ankle-foot prosthesis prototype that provides distinctly different mechanical properties for walking and standing/swaying. The prototype developed was a single-axis prosthetic foot with a lockable ankle for added stability during standing and swaying. The bimodal ankle-foot prosthesis prototype was tested on pseudoprostheses (walking boots with prosthetic feet beneath) for walking and standing/swaying loads, and was compared to an Otto Bock single-axis prosthetic foot and to able-bodied data collected in a previous study. The height-normalized radius of the effective rocker shape for walking with the bimodal ankle-foot prototype was equal to that found earlier for able-bodied persons (0.17); the standing and swaying effective shape had a lower height-normalized radius (0.70) compared with that previously found for able-bodied persons (1.11). The bimodal ankle-foot prosthesis prototype had a similar radius as the Otto Bock single-axis prosthetic foot for the effective rocker shape for walking (0.17 for both), but had a much larger radius for standing and swaying (0.70 for bimodal, 0.34 for single-axis). The results suggest that the bimodal ankle-foot prosthesis prototype provides two distinct modes, including a biomimetic effective rocker shape for walking and an inherently stable base for standing and swaying. The radius of the prototype's effective rocker shape for standing/swaying suggests that it may provide inherent mechanical stability to a prosthesis user, since the radius is larger than the typical body center of mass’s distance from the floor (between 50–60% of height). Future testing is warranted to determine if the bimodal ankle-foot prosthesis will increase balance and balance confidence in prosthesis users.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
September 2013
Design Innovations
Development of a Bimodal Ankle-Foot Prosthesis for Walking and Standing/Swaying
Andrew H. Hansen,
Andrew H. Hansen
Director, Minneapolis VA Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Program
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
Associate Professor, Program in Rehabilitation Sciences,
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
Minneapolis, MN 55417
e-mail: Andrew.Hansen2@va.gov
Engineering Research Program
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
Associate Professor, Program in Rehabilitation Sciences,
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
University of Minnesota
,One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
Minneapolis, MN 55417
e-mail: Andrew.Hansen2@va.gov
Search for other works by this author on:
Eric A. Nickel
Eric A. Nickel
Research Biomedical Engineer
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
e-mail: Eric.Nickel@va.gov
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
Minneapolis, MN 55417
e-mail: Eric.Nickel@va.gov
Search for other works by this author on:
Andrew H. Hansen
Director, Minneapolis VA Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Program
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
Associate Professor, Program in Rehabilitation Sciences,
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
Minneapolis, MN 55417
e-mail: Andrew.Hansen2@va.gov
Engineering Research Program
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
Associate Professor, Program in Rehabilitation Sciences,
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
University of Minnesota
,One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
Minneapolis, MN 55417
e-mail: Andrew.Hansen2@va.gov
Eric A. Nickel
Research Biomedical Engineer
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
e-mail: Eric.Nickel@va.gov
Minneapolis VA Health Care System,
One Veterans Drive (MS 151),
Minneapolis, MN 55417
e-mail: Eric.Nickel@va.gov
Manuscript received August 2, 2012; final manuscript received April 18, 2013; published online July 3, 2013. Assoc. Editor: William K. Durfee.
J. Med. Devices. Sep 2013, 7(3): 035001 (5 pages)
Published Online: July 3, 2013
Article history
Received:
August 2, 2012
Revision Received:
April 18, 2013
Citation
Hansen, A. H., and Nickel, E. A. (July 3, 2013). "Development of a Bimodal Ankle-Foot Prosthesis for Walking and Standing/Swaying." ASME. J. Med. Devices. September 2013; 7(3): 035001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4024646
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Flow Diverter Technology for the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms: A Review
J. Med. Devices (June 2025)
Editorial
J. Med. Devices (March 2025)
An MR-Safe Pneumatic Stepper Motor: Design, Control, and Characterization
J. Med. Devices (March 2025)
Related Articles
Prosthetic Ankle-Foot Mechanism Capable of Automatic Adaptation to the Walking Surface
J Biomech Eng (March,2009)
A Universal Ankle–Foot Prosthesis Emulator for Human Locomotion Experiments
J Biomech Eng (March,2014)
Concept Through Preliminary Bench Testing of a Powered Lower Limb Prosthetic Device
J. Mechanisms Robotics (November,2010)
Evaluation of a Prototype Hybrid Vacuum Pump to Provide Vacuum-Assisted Suspension for Above-Knee Prostheses
J. Med. Devices (December,2015)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Section VIII: Division 2–Alternative Rules
Companion Guide to the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Codes, Volume 2, Sixth Edition
The Nuclear and Related Industry
Decommissioning Handbook
Cultural Impediments to Practical Modeling of Wear Rates
Tribological Modeling for Mechanical Designers