SIMULATED PROSTHESES AND ORTHOSES TO SUPPORT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON DISABILITIES

The purpose of this paper is introduction of simulated prostheses and orthoses which support research and development relevant to disabilities. Dederich in Germany (1970) devised a simple device for patients who are expected to receive limb amputation in a few days. By using the device, the patients can perform gait exercise before amputation and also can obtain preliminary knowledge about their prostheses. Taking a hint from that, we devised a simulated prosthesis which can be used for tests of newly developed prostheses and prosthetic components (1979). Using the simulated prosthesis, we studied basic problems of the sensory feedback system for an artificial limb and also evaluated effects of the system. Furthermore, we used the simulated prosthesis for tests of a load-actuated brake knee. Many kinds of simulated prostheses and orthoses have previously been developed by other researchers. Almost all of them are introduced in this paper. The merits of the simulated prostheses and orthoses that can be used by healthy, instead of disabled, persons are reductions in both cost and manufacturing time for every subject. These advantages of simulated prostheses and orthoses are particularly suited to research carried out by undergraduate and graduate students in an engineering university.