Artificial tendons: biomechanical design properties for prosthetic lower limbs

This paper reports on the design of an artificial tendon intended for use in a powered, lower limb prosthesis. To specify performance requirements, the properties of mammalian weight bearing tendons are drawn from the literature and compared with a number of existing tendon models. Based on the data, a mathematical model of an energy storing tendon is proposed and used to design an artificial tendon that mimics the performance of the human Achilles tendon. The proposed tendon design is a tradeoff between a weight penalty and desired performance. Experimental results of this practical design demonstrate desired performance.