Adaptive Foot in Lower-Limb Prostheses

Abstract

The human foot consists of complex sets of joints. The adaptive nature of the human foot enables it to be stable on any uneven surface. It is important to have such adaptive capabilities in the artificial prosthesis to achieve most of the essential movements for lower-limb amputees. However, many existing lower-limb prostheses lack the adaptive nature. This paper reviews lower-limb adaptive foot prostheses. In order to understand the design concepts of adaptive foot prostheses, the biomechanics of human foot have been explained. Additionally, the requirements and design challenges are investigated and presented. In this review, adaptive foot prostheses are classified according to actuation method. Furthermore, merits and demerits of present-day adaptive foot prostheses are presented based on the hardware construction. The hardware configurations of recent adaptive foot prostheses are analyzed and compared. At the end, potential future developments are highlighted.