Design of a Compliant Mechanism Based Prosthetic Foot

The expensive prosthetic foot products available today are unaffordable to the amputees below the low income bar. In this paper, our methodology to develop a low cost Compliant Mechanism based Prosthetic Foot is highlighted. The base design of our foot is obtained by the execution of the Topology Optimisation code followed by the development of a 3D CAD model of the required dimensions. The typical pressure line of an average human foot (60 Kg) is considered and incorporated into the CAD model to endorse flexibility, efficient energy storage and return (ESAR) when compared to the conventional behavior of rigid prosthetic foot products. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is further carried out discreetly, accounting three major phases the human foot undergoes during a gait cycle.