Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have built software that allows powered prosthetics to tune themselves automatically. The development lowers costs and makes the devices more functionally useful.
The algorithm allows a prosthesis to adjust to changing conditions.
“For example, the algorithm could provide more power to a prosthesis when a patient carries a heavy suitcase through an airport,” said Helen Huang, associate professor in the biomedical engineering program at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill.
During the conventional prosthetic tuning process, a prosthetist tunes the powered prosthesis’s system so that it exerts the power necessary to recreate normal joint motions while walking. Changes in a person’s weight or gait, however, can affect the prosthesis’s ability to achieve a natural joint angle.
The alogrithm-driven system tracks the angle of the prosthetic knee while walking. In order to maintain the proper angle, the software adjusts the amount of power that the prosthesis receives in real time.
