Development of a powered transtibial prosthesis for ball room dancing

Abstract

Research on lower extremity prostheses has primarily focused on activities of daily living, such as walking and running, but has largely overlooked less common activities. As a result, traditional prosthetic devices are designed for a walking/running gait, and are difficult to use for other activities. This study aims to take the first steps to determine if a bionic prosthesis can enable alternate activity modes, not driven by traditional activities of daily living. Specifically, we aim to modify the BiOM, a commercial robotic ankle prosthesis, to allow a professional dancer and below-knee amputee to dance the Rumba. The movements of an able-bodied professional dancer were quantified and analyzed in order to develop a novel dance control system for the BiOM. With minimal hardware modifications, a powered prosthetic device was developed that enables the subject to dance more proficiently than with a traditional prosthesis.