Prosthetic Leg Analysis Project Proposal Max Willer

Summary The use of prosthetics in main stream sport applications is on the rise In some cases, athletes with prosthetics are at an advantage to those without A famous example is the Flex Foot Cheetah prosthetic, which has been reported to be more energy efficient than the human ankle. The Flex Foot is designed just for forward motion I’m looking to analyze the forces in this kind of lower leg prosthetic for tennis and sports that require lateral (side to side) movements

Requirements Prosthetic needs to have the ability to mimic ankle inversion and eversion to keep the bottom friction surface facing down Prosthetic needs to be able to withstand the greater forces seen by full side to side leg forces Prosthetic needs to be able to withstand twist about the lower leg axis

Design Design of the actual Flex Foot is proprietary Study permutations of prosthetic design that will satisfy requirements X-ply composite, with X-X-X fiber layer directions

Additional Information Use of traction studies in shoe material to illustrate the load condition requirements on the prosthetic Additional look at stopping forces in front direction

References