Article

Successful prosthetic rehabilitation following lower-limb amputation depends upon
a safe and comfortable socket-residual limb interface.
Current practice
predominantly uses a subjective, iterative process to establish socket shape,
often requiring several visits to a prosthetist. This study proposes an objective
methodology for residual-limb shape scanning and analysis by high-resolution,
automated measurements.
A three-dimensional printed "analog" residuum was scanned
with three surface digitizers on 10 occasions. Accuracy was measured by the scan
height error between repeat analog scans and the computer-aided design (CAD)
geometry and the scan versus CAD volume. Subsequently, 20 male residuum casts
from ambulatory individuals with transtibial amputation were scanned by two
observers, and 10 were repeat-scanned by one observer. The shape files were
aligned spatially and geometric measurements extracted. Repeatability was
evaluated by intraclass correlation, Bland-Altman analysis of scan volumes, and
pairwise root-mean-square error ranges of scan area and width profiles.
Submillimeter accuracy was achieved when scanning the analog shape, and using
male residuum casts the process was highly repeatable within and between
observers. The technique provides clinical researchers and prosthetists the
capability to establish their own quantitative, objective, multipatient data
sets, providing an evidence base for training, long-term follow-up, and
interpatient outcome comparison, for decision support in socket design.

Langue : ANGLAIS