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Abstract Purpose – The aim is to set a state-of-the-art in scientific research towards the development of knee
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prostheses for transfemoral amputees, by reviewing the literature in the field and by identifying
different scientific research lines that have brought out through the years. Also, to provide the
information about possible outcomes in the near future, and their links to cybernetics, given the
present trends in the field.8858
Design/methodology/approach – Literature related to scientific research carried out up-to-date in
the field of knee prostheses, is reviewed in scientific articles, books and electronic sources. Then,
different research lines are identified from the obtained information, and finally classified as presented
in this work.
Findings – Three scientific research lines regarding the development of knee prostheses were found,
each one dealing with: the design of knee prostheses; the performance assessment of these prostheses;
and the creation of control strategies for these prostheses which use electronics to control their
performance. Also, two new possible eras of prostheses were encountered: the cybernetic era, and the
electromyographic one. Considering both options, it is concluded that the cybernetic era of prostheses
is likely to become real soon.
Practical implications – A useful state-of-the-art review for researchers likely to be introduced in
the field of development of knee prostheses and prosthetic technology in general.
Originality/value – This literature review not only sets a state-of-the-art of the development of knee
prostheses, but also proposes a frame of references which allows to classify the different works done in
the field, as well as a better understanding of these through a clear presentation.
Keywords Cybernetics, Prosthetic devices, Intelligent agents
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
Walking is synonymous of freedom to human beings. It represents the possibility of
moving from one place to another at will, making use of the locomotive systemgiven by
nature. More in detail, humans are featured, among other things, by biped-locomotion,
which means they are provided with two natural lower limbs to walk. In normal
conditions, functions regarding human gait are developed by the nervous system at a
very early age, and these are so well learned, that they are executed in a practically
unconscious way. Nevertheless, to be able to walk, besides a nervous system (software)
to coordinate and supervise gait actions, it is indispensable to count with a
muscle-skeletal system (hardware) to execute them, in this case, a pair of legs.
For some inpiduals, their existence is limited in the hardware level. It is the case of
lower limb amputees, who for any congenital problem, disease or traumatism suffered
in their lives, lack a pair of legs to walk. This problem exists maybe from the times
when man appeared on earth, given that it refers to the condition of lack of a lower
limb, which in essence enables the gait. Nevertheless, it is important to mention threecauses that have increased notoriously the number of lower limb amputees in the last
century.
The first cause regards wars in general, but in particular the World Wars I and II
(Trenches on the Web – Timeline, 2007), and among others more recent, the wars in
the Middle East (ABC News, 2006; War Amputees, 2006) and Bosnia-Herzegovina
(Mine Detection, 1996). In the first two wars, due to the number of people involved in
battle and the use of modern weapons, and in the last wars, given the huge number of
mines spread in the lands where these wars have taken place. The second cause refers
to car development from the beginnings of last century, and the accidents that have
happened since then (RESUMEN, 2004). The higher speeds of cars compared to