Our goal was to develop a powered orthosis for the lower limb that could comfortably provide external torque during human walking. We constructed the orthosis from a carbon fiber shell with hinge joint and two artificial pneumatic muscles. One artificial pneumatic muscle provided plantar flexion torque and one artificial pneumatic muscle provided dorsiflexion torque. We collected joint kinematic and artificial muscle force data as one healthy subject walked with the orthosis using proportional myoelectric control. Peak plantar flexor torque provided by the orthosis was 70 Nm and peak dorsiflexor torque provided by the orthosis was 38 Nm. Soleus and tibialis anterior EMG amplitudes changed in response to powered orthosis assistance. Future studies could use similiar powered orthoses to study biomechanics and motor adaptation during human walking or to assist gait rehabilitation after neurological injury.

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