STTR Phase I: A Novel Prescription Process that Customizes Prosthetic Feet for Individual Patients

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a novel process for providing customized prosthetic feet. Current prescription methods match patients with prosthetic feet designs based on the patient’s weight and level of physical activity. However, this method often neglects patient variabilities in terms of posture and walking gait and results in suboptimal force distribution and a mismatch in biomechanics. These problems, in turn, result in a multitude of potential chronic issues including issues with gait, balance. and pain. This proposed system aims to develop a novel fitting system and fabrication process to provide customized prosthetic feet based on optimized mechanical stress distribution models. The system aims to benefit the 420,000 highly active US patients who utilize prosthetic feet each year. This STTR Phase I project will address a clinical need by developing a novel prescription approach to developing custom prosthetic feet. The novel process utilizes a prosthetic foot model with adjustable stiffness properties in conjunction with an optimization algorithm to determine individual patient’s customized prosthetic foot settings. Custom prosthetic feet will be fabricated and fitted for use in individual patients. The prosthetics will then be validated in a limited proof of concept study to demonstrate improvements to kinematic and kinetic behaviors. The goals are to closely match the participant's intact ankle and foot measurements and to improve patient satisfaction outcomes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.