Prosthetic Foot that Uses Kinetic Energy Developed

The thought of having a prosthetic foot is a bit overwhelming for most of us. However it is a reality for millions of people throughout the world. We think about how hard it must be to not have a real foot. It is even harder than most of us realize because it exerts a ton of energy to walk with a fake one. Studies have shown it actually takes 23% more energy than walking with a natural foot. The University of Michigan is about to change this with their new kinetic energy foot.

The college's foot is a prototype foot that was developed by a group of their researchers. They have developed the foot so that it moves around almost naturally by recycling kinetic energy that will be generated while walking. Their studies showed that humans normally dissipate energy while walking. It was natural for them to develop a prosthetic foot that could capture this wasted energy and convert it so that an almost robotic type of foot could move more naturally.

The beauty of this prosthetic is in it's ability to mimic how the ankle naturally pushes off. It is when the ankle does this that energy is created. The prototype is able to reproduce the ankle's strength simply by recycling the expressed energy that is produced while walking. This enables the prosthetic to also have a smaller battery because it does not need to replace the battery due to recycling energy. Basically, the prosthetic could last the user a lifetime.

The University of Michigan decided that the perfect place to conduct tests with the new foot was at the Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Results so far have been hugely positive and shows that the foot could be released commercially over the next year or two. There is also a local company that has expressed interest in producing their own prosthetic foot using the research information conducted by the university.

This is great news for all those out there who are tired of their current prosthetic. If the school is able to do this with the foot it most likely means it will only be a small matter of time before they do it with other limbs. There will be future updates on the project released by the university over the next few months. Keep yourself posted here to find out what the next steps will be in the development of this awesome piece of prosthetic technology.

Sources:

1. Steven Mottor, My Own Review, 2010.

2. PhysOrg, http://www.physorg.com/news185607252.html, 2010