Smart prosthetic legs learn to walk naturally
NCT ID NCT06138977
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study aims to make powered prosthetic legs for above-knee amputees move more naturally by using machine learning to model how healthy joints work. Researchers will test the new control system in 40 participants, including both able-bodied individuals and those with amputations. The goal is to improve tasks like walking, climbing stairs, and standing up, making the prosthetic feel more like a real leg.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2023
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria for able-bodied participants will be: * Aged between 18 to 65 years Exclusion criteria for able-bodied, young adult participants will be: * Pregnant (self-report) * Any significant neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorder that would interfere with the study * Unable to walk for 20 minutes * History of any cardiovascular, vestibular, or visual diseases and/or impairments that may interfere with the study * Cognitive deficits that would impair their ability to give informed consent or impair their ability to follow simple instructions during the experiments. In the case of screening for cognitive deficits, the consenting researcher will ask the subject if he/she has any prior history of cognitive deficits. * Adults with a known allergy to medical grade tape Inclusion criteria for subjects with amputation will be: * Aged between 18 to 70 years. * Weigh less than 250 lbs due to limitations in the design of the prosthesis. * Amputee subjects will be more than two months post independent ambulation with an amputation at the transfemoral level in order to use the above-knee prosthesis. * Amputee subjects will have a mobility classification of K2/K3/K4 ambulators (minimum community ambulatory) and have the ability to ambulate without an assistive device beyond their prosthesis. Exclusion criteria for subjects with amputation will be: * Weigh over 250 pounds body * Pregnant (self-report) * Any significant neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorder that would interfere with the study * Inactive or physically unfit, unable to walk for 20 minutes * An excessively long residual limb length, and/or a non-removable cosmetic cover determined by the prosthetist performing the evaluations * Cognitive deficits or visual impairment that would impair their ability to give informed consent or impair their ability to follow simple instructions during the experiments. In the case of screening for cognitive deficits, the consenting researcher will ask the subject if he/she has any prior history of cognitive deficits. * Co-morbidity that interferes with the study (e.g., pace maker placement, severe ischemia, cardiac disease, etc.) * Adults unable to consent * Adults with a known allergy to medical grade tape
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Rehab Lab, University of Michigan
RECRUITINGAnn Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a motorized knee help amputees walk more? trial puts it to the test
- Can we predict prosthetic success? a study seeks answers
- Can bionic limbs feel real? a trial tests touch feedback for amputees
- Can a common anesthetic dampen phantom limb pain?
- Can tiny electrodes give amputees a better grip on bionic limbs?
- FitBit coaching may help amputees walk more after surgery