The present invention provides A prosthetic device (10) having an anchor portion (30) in combination with a base portion (12) which is connected to said anchor portion (30). An elongate digit (14) is coupled to a first portion of a pivot connection (16a) mounted on the base portion (12), whilst a second portion of a pivot connection (16b) is mounted on the proximal end (14a) of the digit (14) and is connected to the first portion (16a) of the pivot connection (16). A linear actuator (40) within the elongate digit (14) has a first portion (40a) secured to the elongate digit (14) for movement therewith and a second portion (40b) remote therefrom and axially movable relative thereto and is operable with said pivot connection (16) to thereby to cause pivotal movement of said digit (14) around said pivot connection (16a, 16b) upon axial movement of said second portion (40b) of said linear actuator (40).

The stent has an expansive force 0.05 N/mm or less per unit length when it has a diameter equal to the lower limit diameter of the target blood vessel and is measured under the following conditions. A radial force testing system manufactured by Blockwise Engineering LLC is used as a tester. The test conditions include a temperature of 37° C.±2° C. in the chamber of the tester; a stent diameter of 0.5 mm for start of test, and a rate of increase of diameter of 0.5 mm/s in the tester. The test method includes radially compressing the stent disposed in the chamber; recording an expansive force while gradually increasing the diameter of the chamber at the rate of increase of diameter; and dividing the expansive force by the effective length of the stent to calculate an expansive force per unit length.

A time-dependent decay behavior is incorporated into one or more joint actuator control parameters during operation of a lower-extremity, prosthetic, orthotic or exoskeleton device. These parameters may include joint equilibrium, joint impedance (e.g., stiffness, damping) and/or joint torque components (e.g., gain, exponent). The decay behavior may be exponential, linear, piecewise, or may conform to any other suitable function. Embodiments presented herein are used in a control system that emulates biological muscle-tendon reflex response providing for a natural walking experience. Further, joint impedance may depend on an angular rate of the joint. Such a relationship between angular rate and joint impedance may assist a wearer in carrying out certain activities, such as standing up and ascending a ladder.

A method for controlling the standing-phase damping of an artificial knee joint comprising an upper part and a lower part which are secured together in a pivotal manner about a pivot axis, a resistance unit which is arranged between the upper part and the lower part and has an adjustment device via which the damping resistance can be modified, and a control unit which is coupled to the adjustment device and which is connected to at least one sensor. The adjustment is carried out on the basis of sensor data, and the knee angle is detected by the at least one sensor during the standing-phase inflexion up to the terminal standing phase. The flexion damping is increased to a level above an initial flexion damping in order to prevent a further inflexion upon reaching a specified maximum knee angle.

A prosthesis device having a tension element fastened to a tensile force brace, which drives a movable component of a prosthesis device upon applying a tension force, wherein a sensor device is allocated to the tension element which detects the actuation of the tension element and activates a motor allocated to the movable component.

In some embodiments of a prosthetic or orthotic ankle/foot, a prediction is made of what the walking speed will be during an upcoming step. When the predicted walking speed is slow, the characteristics of the apparatus are then modified so that less net-work that is performed during that step (as compared to when the predicted walking speed is fast). This may be implemented using one sensor from which the walking speed can be predicted, and a second sensor from which ankle torque can be determined. A controller receives inputs from those sensors, and controls a motor's torque so that the torque for slow walking speeds is lower than the torque for fast walking speeds. A controller determines a desired torque based on the output, and controls the motor's torque based on the determined desired torque.

Prosthetic and/or orthotic devices (PODS), control systems for PODS and methods for controlling PODS are provided. As part of the control system, an inference layer collects data regarding a vertical and horizontal displacement of the POD, as well as an angle of the POD with respect to gravity during a gait cycle of a user of the POD. A processor analyzes the data collected to determine a locomotion activity of the user and selects one or more control parameters based on the locomotion activity. The inference layer may be situated between a reactive layer control module and a learning layer control module of the control system architecture.

Apparatus is provided to cushion between a prosthetic socket and an amputee's residual limb. A plurality of putty-filled packets are assembled into a liner that, when assembled, provides a generally smooth contact surface toward the residual limb. At least one of the packets has a fluid bladder positioned between the putty material and the socket, and the fluid volume in the bladder can be adjusted to affect the fit of the assembly on the residual limb. Methods of fabrication, fitting, and use of such prosthetic devices are disclosed.

A prosthetic includes a pair of prosthetic members movably coupled together to allow movement of the pair of prosthetic members with respect to one another. A hydraulic actuator or damper including hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic chamber is coupled to one of the pair of prosthetic members. A hydraulic piston is movably disposed in the hydraulic chamber and coupled to another of the pair of prosthetic members. A hydraulic flow channel is fluidly coupled between opposite sides of the chamber to allow hydraulic fluid to move between the opposite sides of the chamber as the hydraulic piston moves therein. A voice coil valve is coupled to the hydraulic flow channel to vary resistance to flow of hydraulic fluid through the flow channel, and thus movement of the piston in the chamber, and thus influencing a rate of movement of the pair of prosthetic members with respect to one another.

A prosthetic ankle includes a pair of prosthetic members movably coupled together to allow movement of the pair of prosthetic members with respect to one another. A hydraulic actuator or damper including hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic chamber is coupled to one of the pair of prosthetic members. A hydraulic piston is movably disposed in the hydraulic chamber and coupled to another of the pair of prosthetic members. A hydraulic flow channel is fluidly coupled between opposite sides of the chamber to allow hydraulic fluid to move between the opposite sides of the chamber as the hydraulic piston moves therein. A voice coil valve is coupled to the hydraulic flow channel to vary resistance to flow of hydraulic fluid through the flow channel, and thus movement of the piston in the chamber, and thus influencing a rate of movement of the pair of prosthetic members with respect to one another.