Amputees fitted with a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee experienced stance times and swing times similar to those of nonamputee controls, according to study results published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International.
Researchers from the University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic, compared the basic temporal-spatial parameters of gait in eight transfemoral amputees fitted with microprocessor and mechanically passive prosthetic knees, with those of participants with a nonpathological gait. Participants walked across two dynamometric platforms 15 times while researchers measured movement kinematics using optoelectronic stereophotogrammetry.
Study results showed that the swing time of the prosthetic limb in patients fitted with a mechanically passive knee was longer than that of the nonaffected limb. When compared with the control group, the swing time in participants fitted with the passive knee was longer, as was stance time of the nonaffected limb.
For more information:
Uchytil J. Prosthet Orthot Int. 2013;doi:10.1177/0309364613492789.
Disclosure: The researchers have no relevant financial disclosures.
