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TRANS TIBIAL Suspension evaluation
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Matthew Fleming - Prosthetics/ Orthotics ( La Trobe University).
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Matthew investigated the clinical application of various Trans-tibial suspension techniques following on from a technical study done by Ross Stewart and Bill Contoyannis Below knee prosthetic suspension systems can be categorised into four classes - Vacuum, Anatomical, Strap and Hinged. Whilst there has been many claims about the relative effectivenessof the various techniques for suspension, there are few comparative studies. |
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An experiment was devised which could be used to quantify the effectiveness of various suspension systems. To standardise the experiment, a below knee limb was constructed to have similar anatomical features and skin surface characteristics as an anatomical residual limb. To this limb vacuum, strap and anatomical suspension below knee prosthetic sockets could be donned.
By using a tensile tester a graph of the tensile force required to displace the socket a given distance can be obtained. Extensive video footage was used to see how the suspension systems released from the "limb".
This tensile force can be related to the radial force producedby a prostheses of known weights at a variety of walking speeds.
More importantly, the graph gives a comparison of various suspension classes for a given situation. This can complement other clinical considerations in the type of prosthesis prescribed for a given patient.
A clinical trial was then conducted using the same four suspension techniques on a single patient. The results of both the clinical and technical trial indicated that at walking velocities the displacement for all suspension techniques was minimal.
A complete report and video are available to the industry.
