Microprocessor-Based Hydraulic Damping-Controlled Prosthetic Knee for Developing Countries

Abstract

Walking is considered one of the most common lower limb activities of able-bodied humans during their everyday life activities. The loss in mobility due to amputation results in a degradation of the quality of life for amputees. This could affect many aspects of the amputees’ personal and professional lives. Over the last few decades, there has been a rapid development in the prosthetics and rehabilitation industry due to state-of-the-art developments in technologies such as material, mechanical, electronics, sensors, mechatronics and actuation systems. However, they require complex and costly manufacturing processes which cannot be afforded and implemented in low-income countries. This paper introduces a design guideline of a low-cost microprocessor prosthetic knee which can be built and implemented in developing countries. This covers the mechanical design, hydraulic circuit design and simplified control algorithm.