Mechanic impact analysis in the prostheses of a bilateral lower-limb amputee during the gait

Abstract

LATELY We can experience the increasing use of accelerometers (Shock measurements) in clinical applications, especially in gait studies attaching the accelerometers in the subjects tibia to impact appraisal. However, there are few studies about the effect of those vibrations in the locomotor system of lower limb prosthetic users. The objective of this study was to measure the amount of vibration during the gait in two different spots in both prostheses of bilateral below-knee amputee. For the acquisition we use a gait speed of 4km/h through 8 meters walk with two uniaxial piezoelectric accelerometers set at two different sites of the prostheses. First, the accelerometers were fixed in both prostheses sockets and later they were fixed in the prostheses pylons. We used descriptive statistics exploratory Anova one-way and post hoc Tukey. The One-way Anova test showed significant differences comparing the accelerometer fixation spots. Through the Tuckey Post Hoc we are able to highlight higher accelerations peaks in the left prosthesis socket (p < 0,005) indicating a higher acceptance of vibration stump left it had greater length. The highest average peak acceleration encountered during the gait were: 3.57 g for the right prostheses with the accelerometer fixed to pylons and 5.70 g for the left prostheses fixed of the prostheses ´sockets. This appraisal approach could be used to monitor the prosthetic rehabilitation process of lower-limb amputees.