Impact of Powered Knee-Ankle Prosthesis Leg on Everyday Community Mobility and Social Interaction

The Vanderbilt powered prosthesis is a transfemoral prosthesis with powered and coordinated knee and ankle joints. The Generation 3 prosthesis is actuated by two brushless direct current (DC) motors, providing up to 100 Nm of torque at the knee joint, and with the assistance of a parallel stiffness, up to 200 Nm in plantar flexion at the ankle. Sensors measure knee and ankle joint angles, axial load in the shank, and position and orientation of the prosthesis in space (via a 6-axis inertial measurement unit). An onboard lithium-ion battery provides sufficient energy for approximately 10,000 steps between battery charges. The prosthesis prototype weighs approximately 4.3 kg (9.5 lb), the mass of which is approximately equivalent to the intact limb of a 48 kg (105 lb) person.

Participants enrolled will already have their own microprocessor controlled (MP) non-powered knee prostheses as per inclusion criteria. Examples: OttoBock's C-Leg, Ossur's Rheo, Freedom Plie, Endolite Orion,etc.