An enhancement of the Genium™ microprocessor-controlled knee improves safety and different aspects of the perceived prosthetic experience for unilateral and bilateral users.

Bilateral microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee (MPK) users have unique needs in traversing environmental barriers compared to unilateral users. An enhancement to the Genium™/Genium X3™ MPK which included an updated ruleset, hydraulics, and new bilateral parameter presets was made to improve safety while stumbling and the smoothness of gait for all users while also improving the experience of bilateral users. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the enhancements in a sample with unilateral and bilateral amputation. A convenience sample of MPK users was recruited from two sites in the USA in two phases. Assessments included the Twenty-six subjects ( Substantial reductions in stumbles, residual limb pain, and back pain were shown overall. These reductions were driven by the unilateral group who also showed improvements in comfort, exertion, and concentration while walking. The enhancements to the knee likely reduced some gait asymmetry for unilateral users. Improvements in patient-reported ease and safety of completing ADLs were shown overall and were driven by the bilateral group. This study shows further improvement in patient experience is achievable through innovation in MPK technology even for patients who appear to be functioning well.

Informations de copyright

© 2024 Klenow, Lundstrom, Morris, Patterson, Simpson, Trejo and Kannenberg.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

TK, RL, AM, and AK are employees of Otto Bock Healthcare LP, a subsidiary of Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, the parent company of Ottobock Healthcare Products GmbH, which is the manufacturer of the Genium™, sponsored the study. EG is an employee of Ottobock Healthcare Products GmbH, which is the manufacturer of the Genium™. SP owns Prosthetic & Orthotic Associates and CS was employed by Dream Team Prosthetics, LLC which were compensated by the sponsor to participate as sites. The authors declare that this study received funding from Ottobock Healthcare Products GmbH, Vienna, AT. The funders had the following involvement in the study: study design, data collection and analysis, and decision to publish.