Mechanical properties of prosthetic limbs: adapting to the patient

Lower-limb amputees have identified comfort and mobility as the two most important characteristics of a prosthesis. While these in turn depend on a multitude of factors, they are strongly influenced by the biomechanical performance of the prosthesis and the loading it imparts to the residual limb. Recent years have seen improvements in several prosthetic components that are designed to improve patient comfort and mobility. In this paper, we discuss two of these: VSAP and prosthetic foot-ankle systems; specifically, their mechanical properties and impact on amputee gait are presented.