Artificial Foot which Recycles Energy

Ritecraft | February 21, 2010 | 0 Comments

In an exciting development in the medical field, Steve Collins and Arthur Duo developed a foot prosthetic which actually uses energy which is otherwise lost. People, who have physical problems with the ankle, need to wear an artificial foot, which is quite heavy.

Every time the foot is lifted to walk, the ankle pushes off the ground and then is put back. This action uses energy. Thanks to microprocessors in the prosthesis, the energy which is dissipated is recycled. Energy recycling restored ankle push-off to normal and reduced the net metabolic energy penalty to 14 percent.

The microprocessors reuse the energy at the right time, thus reducing dependence on batteries. As a prototype it is still in the experimental stage which uses a very small battery compared to other prosthetic feet, which use motor and heavy batteries.

Via: Medindia.net

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