Project description
An innovative prosthesis for lower-limb amputees
Lower-limb loss significantly impacts the quality of life, particularly among older individuals, as it slows down mobility and adds to the decline of physical health. Current prosthetic devices do not fully address the challenges faced by amputees, often forcing them to rely on wheelchairs which impede social inclusion and independence. To address this problem, the EU-funded CYBERLEGs Plus Plus project has introduced a novel robotic ortho-prosthesis developed specifically for transfemoral amputees to ease various daily tasks. The consortium aims to further improve the hardware module, refine the control system and undertake a clinical evaluation of the therapeutic impact of the prosthesis. To achieve these goals and overcome specific challenges, it will liaise with end users and healthcare industries.
Objective
The global goal of the CYBERLEGs Plus Plus project is to validate the technical and economic viability of the powered robotic ortho-prosthesis developed within the framework of the FP7-ICT-CYBERLEGs project as a means to enhance/restore the mobility of transfemoral amputees and to enable them to perform locomotion tasks such as ground-level walking, walking up and down slopes, climbing/descending stairs, standing up, sitting down and turning in scenarios of real life. Restored mobility will allow amputees to perform physical activity thus counteracting physical decline and improving the overall health status and quality of life.
This consortium will pursue the achievement of the global goal by addressing four specific innovation objectives. 1) Further developments of the existing CYBERLEGs hardware modules, namely the 2-degree-of-freedom active transfemoral prosthesis, the active wearable orthotic device, and the wearable sensory apparatus. 2) Further developments of the existing multi-layered CYBERLEGs control system, to enhance its reliable use in real-life scenarios. 3) Carrying out two multi-centre clinical studies, that validate the therapeutic potentialities and the economic viability of a robotic ortho-prosthesis which restores the amputees’ locomotion abilities in scenarios of activities of daily living. 4) Implementation of a 3-phase strategy to foster the start of the market exploitation within the time frame of the CLs++ project.
This proposal focuses on the demonstration in an operational environment (TRL=7) from both the technical and economic viability view point of a modular robotics technology for healthcare, with the ultimate goal of fostering its market exploitation. The proposals involve players from academia, end users, as well as robotics and healthcare industry. Therefore this proposal fits the specific challenge of the scope c of the call H2020-ICT-25-2016-2017.
Fields of science
- social sciencessociologydemographymortality
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringroboticscognitive robots
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinephysiotherapy
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinecardiologycardiovascular diseasesarteriosclerosis
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologyimplants
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
56127 Pisa
Italy