Making affordable, comfortable, and functional prosthetics in a novel way.
Winter 2022 MAE 156B Sponsored Project
Sponsored by Keisuke Matsushita, Joshua Pelz, Luca De Vivo, UCSD CHEI Lab
Team Members
Liam Fowler Anna Nguyen Uy Cao Vu Qifan Yu
Prosthetics can be uncomfortable especially as the residual limb, or leg, can change volume by up to 10% throughout the day. As a result, up to 20% of patients don't use their prosthesis. Therefore, this project implements soft robotic jamming structures to sensitive areas in the prosthesis socket which can control the pressure at those areas as the limb moves and changes volume, improving comfort.
This new prosthesis design will:
Show that soft robotic layer jamming can be implemented into a prothesis
Accommodate 5%-10% volume change of the soft jamming structure, or "socket pocket", without permanent deformation
Withstand 50-120 kPa compressive stress in order to be able to support the residual limb comfortably
Final Design
movie_v1.mp4
Performance Results
Material Properties of Membrane with 12 Jamming Sheets and Tested in the Instron.
When vacuumed to 60 kPa, the layer jamming membrane was able to achieve up to 600% increase in stiffness.
Leaking Performance of the Final Integrated System.
The system required only 3 seconds of pump actuation every 5 minutes to maintain 45±3 kPa absolute vacuum pressure
Balloon Test of the Final Design Solution.
The system was able to change contact pressure throughout 10% volume change of simulated residual limb by modulating stiffness of soft robotic mechanism (socket pocket) through vacuum control
Executive Summary
Executive Summary.pdf