Abstract of the Disclosure
A system and method associated with the movement of a limb. In one
example, the system, such as a prosthetic or orthotic system, includes an
actuator that actively controls, or adjusts, the angle between a foot
unit and a lower limb member. The actuator preferably selectively locks
during a desired phase in a gait cycle of the limb and minimizes friction
against a rotor of the actuator. A processing module may control
movement of the actuator based on data obtained from a sensor module.
For instance, sensing module data may include information relating to the
gait of a user and may be used to adjust the foot unit to substantially
mimic the movement of a natural, healthy ankle. The system may further
accommodate, for example, level ground walking, traveling up/down stairs,
traveling up/down sloped surfaces, and various other user movements. In
addition, the processing module may receive user input or display output
signals through an external interface. For example, the processing
module may receive a heel height input from the user.