Biomechatronic system engineering

Development of active systems in the field of prostheses and orthotics is currently one of the main topics in medical rehab research. As in this field different researcher from different disciplines, not only from technical areas like informatics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, but also from medical and biological research do have to work together, there is a strong need for an integrative development procedure. In this paper a systematic and methodical approach for the development of active systems in the field of Prosthetics and Orthotics is presented. Two examples of active powered devices in this field are shown. One is an active powered knee prosthesis. The other one is an active powered arm orthosis. The presented procedure starts with the definition of the boundary conditions, which are derived from the application, and ends with a graphical description of the important parameters for the power train in powered P&O devices.