Compensation of increased passive stiffness in the ankle joint: Design of Negative Stiffness Orthosis

Title

Compensation of increased passive stiffness in the ankle joint: Design of Negative Stiffness Orthosis

 Author

Brandjes, P.E.M.

Contributor

De Vlugt, E. (mentor)

Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

 Department

Mechanical Engineering

 Date

2016-04-22

 Abstract

This graduation project aims to develop an orthosis for patients suffering from a reduced Range of Motion (RoM) of the ankle joint. The reduced RoM is in dorsiflexion direction, the patient lacks the ability to turn the foot in the direction of the knee. This gait pattern is known as drop foot gait. This results in a low walking speed, increased energy cost and risk of falling. The approach for the Negative Stiffness Orthosis is to compensate the increased passive stiffness of the ankle with a negative stiffness. The Negative Stiffness Orthosis(NSO) was designed, build and evaluated. The novel orthosis is tested for its physical properties, the measurement of the torque-angle relation, weight and size. To test the walkability, a case study was performed on a healthy test subject. This study suggests that this NSO potentially benefit patients with increased passive stiffness in the ankle joint during walking.

 To reference this document use:

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:8fb4f05a-daa6-423f-992b-1e459b6a0584

 Embargo date

2021-02-17

 Part of collection

Student theses

 Document type

master thesis

 Rights

(c) 2016 Brandjes, P.E.M.
Files
PDF Thesis_Pim_Brandjes_Negat ... thosis.pdf 2.83 MB
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