Abstract
Roll‐over shape is introduced as a significant characteristic of prosthetic feet. The roll‐over shapes of the Flexwalk, Quantum, SACH, and SAFE prosthetic feet were determined using three methods; two involving quasi‐static loading and one dynamic loading. The results show that foot roll‐over shape properties obtained by quasi‐static and by dynamic methods are similar.
Relationships between foot roll‐over shape and the alignment of trans‐tibial prostheses are introduced that suggest ways to align trans‐tibial prostheses without walking trials and iterations. The relationships may explain what prosthetists attempt to accomplish when they dynamically align a trans‐tibial limb. They also explain why prosthetic feet with different mechanical properties usually necessitate different alignments, and may explain why a number of gait studies of trans‐tibial amputees do not show major gait differences when walking is executed on various kinds of prosthetic feet.