Research on patient reported outcomes associated with both a research-grade powered knee ankle prosthesis and a clinically prescribed passive prosthesis following ambulation over variable terrains will be presented.

Gait asymmetry and poor mobility outcomes are anticipated following a lower-limb amputation, yet relationships between asymmetry and mobility outcomes remain understudied. In this study we examined these relationships, and observed that increases in gait asymmetry are associated with poor mobility outcomes, among adults with lower-limb amputation.

In our experiment, we compare adult and child whole-limb mechanics and their connection to the energetic cost to walk at comfortable speed. Comfortable speed is the speed freely chosen by adults and children at their lowest energetic cost, thus the mechanics at this speed are compared at each group's ""optimal"". Major differences were found in trailing limb mechanics, that were associated with differences in the scaled net cost to walk.

Falls pose a significant health risk to persons with major lower limb loss throughout the rehabilitation process, and common result from trips. This study characterized the response of older individuals with and without a transtibial amputation to a simulated trip while walking.

Many research studies over the last twenty years have investigated walking symmetry between prosthetic and intact limbs of unilateral lower limb prosthesis users. However, findings from individual studies can be difficult to apply to clinical practice. Current literature on step length, stance time, and sagittal range of motion symmetry is summarized to inform considerations for clinical practice and future research.

This presentation aims to assess whether there is a relationship between prosthetic device satisfaction and functional ability of lower limb prosthetic users. In this study, individuals with higher prosthetic device satisfaction tended to have higher perceived function, especially in individuals with a unilateral transfemoral amputation.