Article

Mitigation of fall-related injuries for populations of transfemoral amputees
fitted with a socket or an osseointegrated fixation is challenging. Wearing a
protective device fitted within the prosthesis might be a possible solution,
provided that issues with automated fall detection and time of deployment of the
protective mechanism are solved. The first objective of this study was to give
some examples of the times and durations of descent during a real forward fall of
a transfemoral amputee that occurred inadvertently while attending a gait
measurement session to assess the load applied on the residuum. The second
objective was to present five semi-automated methods of detection of the time of
descent using the load data. The load was measured directly at 200 Hz using a
six-channel transducer. The average time and duration of descent were 242 +/- 42
ms (145-310 ms) and 619 +/- 42 ms (550-715 ms), respectively. This study
demonstrated that the transition between walking and falling was characterized by
times of descent that occurred sequentially. The sensitivity and specificity of
an automated algorithm might be improved by combining several methods of
detection based on the deviation of the loads measured from their own trends and
from a template previously established.

Langue : ANGLAIS