Variable impedance mechanical interface
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsHugh M. Herr, Andrew Marecki, David M. Sengeh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mechanical interface connecting a biological body segment, such as a limb, portion of a limb or other body segment, to a wearable device such as a prosthetic, orthotic or exoskeletal device, is fabricated by quantitatively mapping a characterized representation of the body segment to form a digital representation of the mechanical interface shape and mechanical interface impedance. The mechanical interface includes a continuous socket defining a contoured inside surface and a contoured outside surface, and includes a material having an intrinsic impedance that varies through the material, so that the intrinsic impedance varies along the contoured inside surface.
Claims19
A method for fabricating a mechanical interface for connecting a biological body segment to a wearable device, comprising:
- generating a digital representation of the biological body segment;
- quantitatively deriving a digital representation of a segment-engaging surface of the mechanical interface from the digital representation of the biological body segment, the digital representation of the segment-engaging surface including a representation of an orthogonal impedance at each of a plurality of anatomical points, the orthogonal impedance being derived as a function of a body orthogonal impedance at a corresponding anatomical point of the digital representation of the biological body segment;
- and
- fabricating the mechanical interface that includes a segment-engaging surface that is based on the representation of the orthogonal impedance at each of the plurality of anatomical points of the biological body segment.
A method for fabricating a liner of a mechanical interface for connecting a biological body segment to a wearable device, comprising:
- generating a digital representation of the biological body segment;
- quantitatively deriving a digital representation of the liner of the mechanical interface from the digital representation of the biological body segment, the digital representation of the liner including a representation of a tensile impedance at each of a plurality of anatomical points, the tensile impedance being derived as a function of a skin strain at a corresponding anatomical point of the digital representation of the biological body segment;
- and
- fabricating the liner of the mechanical interface that includes the representation of the tensile impedance derived based on the skin strain at each of the plurality of anatomical points of the biological body segment.
A mechanical interface for connecting a biological body segment to a wearable device, comprising:
- a socket defining a segment-engaging surface;
- and
- a liner disposed within the socket and supported by the segment-engaging surface, the liner comprising a material having a plurality of tensile impedances, the plurality of tensile impedances varying spatially across the liner, the material configured to provide relatively high compliance in directions corresponding to relatively large skin tensile strains of the biological body segment and relatively low compliance in directions corresponding to relatively small skin tensile strains of the biological body segment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.