Diseño de una prótesis para amputación transtibial con enfoque en la compensación de los tríceps surales

Abstract

The design of a prosthetic model focused on compensating the functionality of the transtibial muscles was carried out for several reasons, such as the low adaptability of commercial prostheses in relation to the sural muscle, the high cost of high performance prostheses and the inaccessibility of spare parts for worn components. For the development of the project, an analysis was carried out to determine useful components and characteristics to generate a high performance model. The relevant components were selected and implemented under criteria of adaptability, economic feasibility, structural design, accessible mechanical fabrication, stability during gait and anatomical proportion. Regarding the anthropometric measurements applied to the final design, research related to anatomical studies were used; these ergonomic measurements established design parameters such as weight, height, ankle level and functionality. For the study of the model, aluminum A132 was considered as the main material, since it is the most common material used to generate recyclable and commercially accessible body parts. Both the characteristics of the prostheses analyzed and the parameterization of the components made it possible to generate a prosthetic model that satisfies the mechanical requirements of the triceps suralis by integrating a cushioning system based on rubber buffers which is capable of supporting up to 4 times the weight of the user in a bipedal state and with a manufacturing cost of less than one basic salary in Ecuador (450 dollars).