Patent Document ID: 8805662
Application ID: 12942886
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A simulator for driving a prosthetic element, comprising: a prosthetic drive mechanism that drives the prosthetic element; a sensor that measures force applied to the prosthetic element; displacement sensors that measure displacement of the prosthetic element; and a control system responsive to the sensors and to a simulation input to drive the prosthetic drive mechanism, the control system including a computational model that incorporates representations of plural individual ligaments, wherein each ligament is represented by at least two fibers, the mechanical properties of each fiber are independently defined and adjustable, each end of each fiber is attached to at least one insertion site during simulated joint motion, said sites independently defined and adjustable in a three-dimensional space, the system configured to define insertion sites not limited to anatomical insertion sites geometry; the model responding to the displacement sensors to determine length of each ligament fiber, based on position of the fiber's insertion sites, and, using the mechanical properties and length of each fiber, determine constraint forces or torques with respect to each ligament fiber, the control system combining the determined constraint forces or torques and the measured force with the stimulation input to drive the prosthetic drive mechanism.