Abstract
Introduction: To improve the quality of life of people with unilateral transtibial amputations (TTA) and transfemoral amputations (TFA), a new passive ankle-foot prosthesis was developed. The aim is to evaluate the coordination walking patterns of the Talaris Demonstrator (TD) through continuous relative phases (CRPs).
Methods: The TTA and TFA individuals’ current prosthesis were compared as well as to able-bodied individuals. Kinematics were captured during 6 minutes of treadmill walking in consecutive blocks of 2 minutes at slow, self-selected and fast speeds, and lower extremity CRPs were calculated. Gait cycles were defined based on the peak hip flexion angles. Additionally, one participant with a TTA was allowed to use the TD for 7 weeks. Statistical non-parametric mapping was applied, and statistical significance was set at 0.05.
Results: The CRPs did not differ between the individuals’ current prosthesis and the TD in people with TTA. Because of the limited sample size, no statistical tests could be conducted among individuals with a TFA. When comparing people with a TFA to able-bodied individuals, the CRP hip-knee was significantly larger in participants with a TFA at + 0-5% (p=0.009) and + 75-100% (p=0.009) of the gait cycle. In addition, results of the CRP knee-ankle in individuals with a TTA were smaller at + 15-20% of the gait cycle during fast (p = 0.014) and self-selected (p = 0.014) walking speeds compared to able-bodied individuals. Furthermore, the CRPs from the participant with a TTA using the TD observed over 7 weeks seem to correspond more closely to the gait pattern of able-bodied individuals.
Conclusion: This study provides lower-limb coordination patterns in people with a lower-limb amputation and reveals a possible beneficial effect of the TD over the individuals’ current prosthesis. Further adequate sampled research is needed to investigate long-term adaptations in passive
prostheses using CRPs.
Methods: The TTA and TFA individuals’ current prosthesis were compared as well as to able-bodied individuals. Kinematics were captured during 6 minutes of treadmill walking in consecutive blocks of 2 minutes at slow, self-selected and fast speeds, and lower extremity CRPs were calculated. Gait cycles were defined based on the peak hip flexion angles. Additionally, one participant with a TTA was allowed to use the TD for 7 weeks. Statistical non-parametric mapping was applied, and statistical significance was set at 0.05.
Results: The CRPs did not differ between the individuals’ current prosthesis and the TD in people with TTA. Because of the limited sample size, no statistical tests could be conducted among individuals with a TFA. When comparing people with a TFA to able-bodied individuals, the CRP hip-knee was significantly larger in participants with a TFA at + 0-5% (p=0.009) and + 75-100% (p=0.009) of the gait cycle. In addition, results of the CRP knee-ankle in individuals with a TTA were smaller at + 15-20% of the gait cycle during fast (p = 0.014) and self-selected (p = 0.014) walking speeds compared to able-bodied individuals. Furthermore, the CRPs from the participant with a TTA using the TD observed over 7 weeks seem to correspond more closely to the gait pattern of able-bodied individuals.
Conclusion: This study provides lower-limb coordination patterns in people with a lower-limb amputation and reveals a possible beneficial effect of the TD over the individuals’ current prosthesis. Further adequate sampled research is needed to investigate long-term adaptations in passive
prostheses using CRPs.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 16 Dec 2022 |