A case study of a single individual with transtibial amputation walking with his clinically prescribed passive prosthesis and a robotic prosthetic foot in a tuned/untuned state will be presented. The subsequent ground reaction forces associated with the various prosthetic feet will be presented.

In one of the largest original data studies on women prosthesis users to date, this presentation explores perceived footwear limitations and assesses how these limitations correlate with a broad array of patient-reported outcomes. Surveys were distributed to 629 women Veterans with lower limb loss and 100 surveys were returned. Women prosthesis users who have issues with how their prosthesis affects the shoes and clothing they can wear have reduced body image, functional capabilities, and participation in daily activities. Addressing these limitations through improved prosthetic foot design may help to improve social participation and other important outcomes for women prosthesis users.

This presentation will describe the design and field testing of an appropriately-costed, ruggedized, energy storage and return prosthetic foot for use in developing countries. The foot was designed using a novel design metric called the Lower Leg Trajectory Error which optimizes a prosthetic foot for a target walking motion. A rugged cosmesis was incorporated in the design to protect and support the keel. Prototypes were distributed to people in India with transtibial amputations to wear for at least six months. At the end of the trial, clinical tests were performed to evaluate the foots performance, and mechanical tests were performed to measure wear and tear on the feet.

Lower limb amputees commonly suffer from secondary pain in their residual limb, contralateral limb and lower back. There is evidence to suggest that prosthetic foot technology can effect the underlying causes of these types of pain. Patient-reported outcome measures were used to gather pain-related data for habitual users of different types of prosthetic feet. Prosthetic ankle adaptation and microprocessor control were linked with reductions in the frequency and intensity of pain experienced by users.

Evidence suggests that the mechanical properties of prosthetic feet can have direct impact on user performance outcomes and footwear can substantially alter these properties. This study aimed to characterize the mechanical properties of women-specific, heel height adjustable prosthetic feet and footwear combinations.

This is a randomized, participant-blinded cross-over study demonstrating: