| abstract |
A prosthetic foot (124) incorporates a foot keel (165) and a calf shank (126) connected to the foot keel to form an ankle joint area of the prosthetic foot. A device (125) connected between the upper end of the calf shank and the lower portion of the prosthesis can be used to assist posterior movement of the upper end of a calf shank and control anterior movement of the upper end of the calf shank during use of the prosthesis. The device (125) has springs which store energy during force loading with anterior motion of the upper end of the calf shank in gait and which, during force unloading, return the stored energy as kinetic power for adding to the propulsive force on the user's body generated by the prosthesis in gait. |