Inverse Kinematics Analysis of a Novel Osseointegrated Prosthesis Prototype with the Use of the “Montefiori” MRI Based Musculoskeletal Subject Specific Model

Prosthetic limb models created with 3D software simulators are nowadays a great tool to visualize the motion of existing and novel prosthesis designs. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) based models created with 3D bone surfaces can simulate prostheses with the joint kinematics data obtained from a motion capture system. These simulations also can help us to visualize the features of a prosthetic design before the prosthesis is created. The main objective is to facilitate prosthesis designers with virtual tools to simulate the prosthesis prototypes to decrease the time and resources of the prosthesis design. By using the method designed by Montefiori et al. [6], it is possible to simulate the differences between the knee flexion during a gait cycle between the physiological limb and a prototype of a prosthetic leg. The joint kinematics of both limbs can be compared to detect the differences during walking. This research was applied to one test subject, but for further research, this method can be applied to more patients that use prosthetic limbs to develop a database of joint kinematics variables that are essential to improve efficiency in the prosthesis design.