Use of Wearable Sensors to Assess Prosthetic Alignment in Veterans with Unilateral Transtibial Amputations

NIH RePORTER · VA · I21 · · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Veterans with transtibial amputation require a prosthesis to walk and are at an increased risk of secondary injury, discomfort, and reduced quality of life. Proper prosthetic alignment can reduce these risks and improve functional ability and comfort in individuals with transtibial amputation. Currently, prosthetists (clinicians) subjectively align a prosthesis, and this may require several clinical visits. Subjective alignment relies on prosthetists’ experience and visual inspection of walking, which is prone to errors and time consuming. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop objective tools for prosthesis alignment. We aim to develop a novel method to [assess] prosthesis alignment accurately, precisely, and cost-efficiently using wireless sensor technology, which could improve quality of life and reduce secondary injury risk for the millions of prosthesis users in the United States. The goal of this study is to determine the accuracy and precision of using wearable sensors combined with an algorithm to assess prosthesis alignment in 10 Veterans with transtibial amputation. [We will ask 10 Veterans with transtibial amputation to walk on a force-treadmill at 1.25 m/s while they use a prosthesis with neutral alignment and that varies by 3° and 6° in one of three planes, the sagittal, coronal, and transverse planes, for a total of 13 prosthesis alignments. For each alignment condition, we will determine the accuracy and precision of using inertial measurement units (IMUs) combined with a numerical algorithm to estimate dynamic-to-static angle (DSA) of the prosthesis and the biological shank during walking in 10 Veterans with unilateral transtibial amputation (Aim 1), where DSA provides information regarding the orientation of the prosthesis and the biological shank. We will also determine the accuracy and precision of using IMUs combined with a numerical algorithm to estimate inter-limb symmetry indices of step length, step frequency, and contact time, which are important discrete temporal-spatial parameters during walking in 10 Veterans with unilateral transtibial amputation (Aim 2). We will compare results estimated using IMUs with results calculated using traditional gold-standard measurements of 3D motion capture and ground reaction forces. We will also investigate the association between angular changes in prosthesis alignment and DSA and interlimb symmetry indices (Aim 3).] We hypothesize that the IMU method will provide accurate (root- mean squared error [RMSE]<6°) and precise (inter-class correlation coefficient [ICC]>0.75) estimations of DSA for both legs and inter-limb symmetry indices (mean absolute percentage error [MAPE]<10%, ICC>0.75) of temporal-spatial parameters. We also hypothesize that changes in prosthesis alignment will result in significant differences in DSA using the IMU method and motion capture measurements. We hypothesize that changes in prosthesis alignment will result in significant differences in interlimb symmetry...

Key facts

NIH application ID
11141544
Project number
5I21RX003861-03
Recipient
VA EASTERN COLORADO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Principal Investigator
Alena Grabowski
Activity code
I21
Funding institute
VA
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
Award type
5
Project period
2022-07-01 → 2025-06-30