Model & Instrument Development Corporation

Seattle Orthopedic Group, Inc.

Stewart L Atkinson

Donald L Poggi

Guy M Houser

An inventive prosthetic ankle for use between a pylon and a prosthetic foot to support a person's weight on the ground comprises an integrally formed, generally C-shaped carbon-fiber composite flexure member having upper, lower and curved legs. The upper leg is connected to a lower end of the pylon, and the lower leg is connected to an upper surface of the prosthetic foot. The curved leg interconnects the upper and lower legs, with the curved leg extending from a forward edge of the upper leg to a forward edge of the lower leg in a rearwardly-facing arc about a medial/lateral axis positioned forward of the pylon. The curved leg is dog-boned to facilitate canting of the pylon with respect to the prosthetic foot in the medial/lateral plane. Also, the curved leg is resilient to resiliently bias the upper and lower legs apart from one another so the legs are positioned in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to one another when the person's weight is off the prosthetic ankle. The resilient biasing also allows the upper and lower legs to pivot toward one another about the medial/lateral axis when the person's weight is on the prosthetic ankle at heel strike. As a result, the prosthetic foot falls flat on the ground soon after heel strike. A limit strap coupled between the upper and lower legs limits rotation of the upper and lower legs away from each other about the medial/lateral axis so the flexure characteristics experienced by an amputee during step-off are substantially determined by the flexure characteristics of the toe portion of the prosthetic foot.

Prosthetic ankle and walking system

A reinforcement assembly to reinforce a selected site on a body, and methods of making and using such a universal reinforcement assembly. Several embodiments of reinforcement assemblies in accordance with the principles of the invention are well suited to support or reinforce laminated structures. In one embodiment, the reinforcement assembly has a reinforcement member configured to be attached to the selected site on the body and a universal attachment medium separately bonded to the reinforcement member. The reinforcement member may be a plate composed of a molding compound, a high density polymer, or another suitable high-strength material. The universal attachment medium, more specifically, may have a first section bonded to the reinforcement member and a second section extending from the reinforcement member to cover an area of the body substantially surrounding the selected site. The attachment medium may be composed of a self-conforming material that inherently conforms to the shape of the body to define an anchor stratum of the laminated structure having a shape corresponding to the area of the body substantially surrounding the selected site.

Growing community of inventors

Bainbridge Island, WA, United States of America

Stewart L Atkinson