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PERFORMANCE OF Hydraulic knee controllers|
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Failures concerning hydraulic knee controllers have largely been ignored, and to this date no one has established a suitable and simple mechanism to allow for early detection of these failures. Failures in hydraulic knee units can result in oil leakage and loss of support, bringing about embarrassing and dangerous situations for the amputee.
It was found, based on a small sample selection, that the time for the unit to return to its equilibrium position from full displacement, varied greatly between the new and old units, suggesting a simple stop watch could be one method of early detection of catastrophic failures. At cold temperatures, approximating conditions of high altitude Victorian winter conditions, failure occured in the newly reconditioned unit. The result of this was significant, since it concluded that catastrophic failure occurs, despite one manufacturer's statement that imply these failures do not occur.
