Tool for designing prosthetic limbs (Video)

Designing new prosthetic limbs and fitting to them patients is a slow, trial-and-error endeavor. Stanford University researchers have developed a tool, called a prosthetic emulator, that could dramatically speed up the process.

The research team thought they could accelerate the process by developing an emulator, which flips the design process on its head. Rather than building a prosthetic limb someone could test in the real world, the team instead built a basic tripod foot, then hooked it up to powerful off-board motors and computer systems that control how the foot responds as a user moves over all kinds of terrain.