可调刚度假肢肘关节设计，实现轻量化与自然交互。
Design, Characterization, and Validation of a Variable Stiffness Prosthetic Elbow
- 采用拮抗肌布局，分置电机以减轻上臂负担。
- 实现120°转动范围，刚度达2-60 Nm/rad，能举起3公斤。
- 重量减半，适合不同截肢位置用户，提升日常使用安全。
直观上，用户可调刚度的假肢能模拟人体肌肉骨骼系统的固有特性，促进真实场景中安全自然的交互与任务适应性。然而，由于增加的复杂性、重量和控制通道，假肢设计常忽略顺应性。本文聚焦于设计一种适用于肘关节的可变刚度执行器（VSA），在重量、尺寸和性能上满足假肢应用需求。尽管生物启发方法建议采用拮抗肌（AA）布局，用弹性驱动复现肱二头肌与肱三头肌，但该方案难以适配残肢的多样化形态。因此，我们采用AA布局设计了一款完全置于用户前臂内的肘部假肢，适用于远端肱骨截肢者；同时提出一种改进设计，将两台电机分别置于上臂与前臂，使质量分布更均匀，提升近端截肢患者的佩戴舒适性。我们对设计方案进行了表征与验证，证明两种架构均满足肘部假肢的性能要求：实现120°转动范围，刚度范围[2, 60] Nm/rad，可主动举起3公斤重物。相比现有肘部可变刚度装置，本设计减重最高达50%，性能达到当前最优水平。案例研究表明，被动与可变顺应性有助于实现在真实世界中的鲁棒且安全的交互与任务适应性。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Intuitively, prostheses with user-controllable stiffness could mimic the intrinsic behavior of the human musculoskeletal system, promoting safe and natural interactions and task adaptability in real-world scenarios. However, prosthetic design often disregards compliance because of the additional complexity, weight, and needed control channels. This paper focuses on designing a Variable Stiffness Actuator (VSA) with weight, size, and performance compatible with prosthetic applications, addressing its implementation for the elbow joint. While a direct biomimetic approach suggests adopting an Agonist-Antagonist (AA) layout to replicate the biceps and triceps brachii with elastic actuation, this solution is not optimal to accommodate the varied morphologies of residual limbs. Instead, we employed the AA layout to craft an elbow prosthesis fully contained in the user's forearm, catering to individuals with distal transhumeral amputations. Additionally, we introduce a variant of this design where the two motors are split in the upper arm and forearm to distribute mass and volume more evenly along the bionic limb, enhancing comfort for patients with more proximal amputation levels. We characterize and validate our approach, demonstrating that both architectures meet the target requirements for an elbow prosthesis. The system attains the desired 120° range of motion, achieves the target stiffness range of [2, 60] Nm/rad, and can actively lift up to 3 kg. Our novel design reduces weight by up to 50% compared to existing VSAs for elbow prostheses while achieving performance comparable to the state of the art. Case studies suggest that passive and variable compliance could enable robust and safe interactions and task adaptability in the real world.
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