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US 8,597,369 B2Granted
Equilibrium-point prosthetic and orthotic ankle-foot systems and devices
AssigneesNorthwestern University, The Department of Veteran Affairs, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
InventorsAndrew H. Hansen, Steven A. Gard, Dudley S. Childress, Brian Ruhe, Ryan Williams
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a system for use in rehabilitation and/or physical therapy for the treatment of injury or disease. The system can enable an amputee to proceed over any surface without overbalancing. In particular the system is self-adapting to adjust the torque moment depending upon the motion, the extent of inclination, and the surface topography.
Claims9
A prosthetic/orthotic ankle-foot system comprising:
- a foot member;
- a shaft secured to the foot member for serving as an axis of rotation for the ankle-foot system;
- a support arm rotatably secured to the shaft;
- a first bumper interposed between the support arm and the foot member for maintaining and/or returning the support arm to a neutral position relative to the foot member;
- a first cam rotatably secured to the shaft;
- a second bumper interposed between the first cam and the foot member;
- a second cam rotatably secured to the support arm for engagement with the first cam;
- an upper housing movably secured to the support arm;
- and
- a link pivotally secured to both the upper housing and the second cam so that when the upper housing is moved toward the support arm, the second cam rotates downward into contact with the first cam, with dorsiflexion of the ankle-foot system causing rotation of the first cam and compression of the second bumper.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.