Patent ID: 8070829

Claim:
A prosthetic foot comprising: a foot keel extending in a longitudinal direction; a resilient ankle; an elongated, upstanding, resilient calf shank above the ankle; wherein the ankle and calf shank are monolithically formed as a continuous resilient member, the shank extending upward in a substantially anterior facing convexly curvilinear manner over at least most of the height of the shank above the ankle, the ankle being anterior facing convexly curved and extending upwardly anteriorly from a lower portion of the ankle secured to the foot keel and extending posteriorly to a lower end of the resilient member, the resilient member flexing in the longitudinal direction during gait for storing and releasing energy to improve dynamic response of the prosthetic foot in gait; at least one artificial muscle provided on at least one of the foot, ankle and shank of the prosthetic foot for storing energy during force loading of the prosthetic foot in the active propulsion phase of a person's gait and in the later stages of stance-phase of gait releasing said energy to aid propulsion of the person's trailing limb and body; wherein said at least one artificial muscle includes an artificial muscle extending between an upper portion of the calf shank and a lower part of the prosthetic foot.