A low-power ankle-foot prosthesis for push-off enhancement.

Passive ankle-foot prostheses are light-weighted and reliable, but they cannot generate net positive power, which is essential in restoring the natural gait pattern of amputees. Recent robotic prostheses addressed the problem by actively controlling the storage and release of energy generated during the stance phase through the mechanical deformation of elastic elements housed in the device. This study proposes an innovative low-power active prosthetic module that fits on off-the-shelf passive ankle-foot energy-storage-and-release (ESAR) prostheses.