Abstract
Ferris AE, Aldridge JM, Rábago CA, Wilken JM. Evaluation of a powered ankle-foot prosthetic
system during walking.
Objective
To determine whether a powered ankle-foot prosthesis improves gait mechanics, physical
performance, and user satisfaction after traumatic transtibial amputation.
Design
Pre-post.
Setting
Gait analysis laboratory.
Participants
Young individuals with traumatic transtibial amputation (n=11) and matched controls
(n=11).
Interventions
Wearing an energy-storing and -returning (ESR) foot and a powered ankle-foot prosthesis.
Main Outcome Measures
Gait mechanics, physical performance, and user satisfaction.
Results
The powered prosthesis ankle range of motion (ROM) was significantly larger (∼30%)
than that of the ESR limb. However, both devices demonstrated significantly less ankle
ROM than the control and intact limbs. At preswing, the ESR limb generated approximately
40% less peak ankle power than control and intact limbs. In contrast, the powered
prosthesis generated significantly greater peak ankle power than control (35%) and
ESR (∼125%) limbs, resulting in the powered limb absorbing twice the peak knee power
observed in the control and intact limbs. The powered prosthesis limb peak hip power
generation was approximately 45% greater at preswing than that of the intact limb.
Walking velocity increased with the powered prosthesis compared with the ESR limb
and was greater than that of the control group. However, physical performance measures
were not significantly different between ESR and powered conditions. User satisfaction
scores indicated a preference for the powered prosthesis over the ESR limb.
Conclusions
Compensatory strategies during gait with the ESR and powered prosthetic devices were
similar to those reported in the literature. However, the addition of ankle power
and ROM by the powered prosthesis appeared to increase compensatory strategies at
proximal joints.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
BiOM (PowerFoot BiOM prosthetic device), ESR (energy-storing and -returning), ROM (range of motion), TTA (transtibial amputation)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 25, 2012
Footnotes
Supported by the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (grant no. W81K00-09-P-1129).
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of Brooke Army Medical Center, the US Army Medical Department, the US Army Office of the Surgeon General, the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the US government.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Reprints are not available from the author.
In-press corrected proof published online on Sep 12, 2012, at www.archives-pmr.org.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
