Evaluation of walking and running biomechanics with accelerometers in transtibial amputee

Uvod: Tako kot hoja tudi tek predstavlja premik telesa iz ene na drugo lokacijo. Pomembno je, da dodobra poznamo značilnosti in potek normalnega vzorca hoje ter teka, saj lahko le tako prepoznamo deviacije gibanja pri amputirancih in jih nato v protetični oskrbi odpravimo in izboljšamo vzorec hoje. Namen: Želeli smo ovrednotiti biomehaniko hoje in teka transtibialnega amputiranca. Preučiti smo želeli tudi uporabnost pospeškometrskega merilnega sistema RunScribe pri vrednotenju hoje in teka transtibialnega amputiranca. Metode dela: Na enem transtibialnem preiskovancu smo izvedli meritve hoje in teka s pomočjo inercijskega merilnega sistema RunScribeTM. Na dorzalni predel obeh stopal smo mu namestili napravi in tako vrednotili hojo in tek na 400 m s protetičnim stopalom Elite Blade in Blade XT. Dobljene rezultate smo izvozili iz RunScribe-ove aplikacije in jih obdelali. Rezultati: Spremljali smo dolžino koraka, dolžino dvojnega koraka, čas faze opore, čas faze letenja pri teku, maksimalno hitrost pronacije in pa navpično silo ob dostopu. Ugotovili smo, da smo dobili podobne rezultate med zdravo in protetično nogo pri parametrih dolžine koraka in dvojnega koraka ter pri trajanju faze opore med zdravo in protetično nogo, prav tako pa zaznamo zanemarljivo razliko pri gibanju z različnima protetičnima stopaloma. Pri navpični sili ob dostopu, maksimalni hitrosti pronacije, tipu postavitve stopala ter trajanju faze leta je opaziti največje neskladje med nogama pri uporabi protetičnega stopala Blade XT. Razprava in zaključek: Merilno napravo smo prvič uporabili za vrednotenje teka in hoje transtibialnega amputiranca, ker je RunScribe prvotno namenjen merjenju teka zdravih preiskovancev, uporabili pa smo tudi dve različni protetični stopali. Merjenje časovno-prostorskih parametrov v protetični obravnavi z uporabo pospeškometrskega sistema je redko. Skupna prednost uporabe vseh nosljivih inercijskih merilnih enot pri amputirancih je njihova velikost, nosljivost, nizka cena, neomejeno časovno obdobje meritev, merjenje izven laboratorija, merjenje na različnih terenih, enostavna uporaba ter hitro in enostavno nameščanje. Opisane meritve lahko pomagajo pri optimiziranju protetičnega pomerjanja, uravnavi in pri individualiziranju selekcije protetičnih komponent.Introduction: Walking and running, both forms represent a movement of the body from one position to another position. It is important to know all the characteristics and processes of the normal gait pattern of walking and running, because only then can we identify gait abnormalities in amputees in order to eliminate them or improve the gait pattern during prosthetic treatment. Purpose: We aimed to investigate the biomechanics of walking and running with accelerometers in transtibial amputee. We also wanted to investigate the use of the RunScribe accelerometer system for walking and running in transtibial amputees Methods: We performed the walking and running measurements on one subject. We attached the accelerometers in on the dorsal area of the foot and he had to walk and run 400 m with the prosthetic feet Elite Blade and Blade XT. We had to export the results we got from the RunScribe application and discuss them. Results: We examined stride length and step lenght, stance time, maximum pronation velocity, footstrike type, and vertical impact force. We found that there is not much difference in stride and step lenght, stance time between intact and prosthetic foot, and there is also a small difference in motion with different prosthetic feet. The greatest disharmony between the legs is in the vertical impact force, maximum pronation velocity, footstrike type and flying time with Blade XT prosthetic foot. Discussion and conclusion: This was the first time RunScribe inertial measurement unit was used to evaluate walking and running biomechanics in transtibial amputee, as RunScribe is primarily designed for healthy runners. We also used two different prostheses, the feet Elite Blade and Blade XT. Spatiotemporal parameters are rarely measured with accelerometers in prosthetics. Common advantages for wearable inertial measurement devices in amputees are their small size, portability, low cost, unlimited time and place for measurement, measurements outside the laboratory, ease of use, smartphone applications. The described measurements that can be performed with RunScribe can help optimize prosthetic fitting, dynamic alignment of prostheses, and selection of prosthetic components