A study sought to measure the effects of the biodesigns
High-Fidelity (HiFi) Interface transfemoral socket system on gait and
perceived disability compared with a traditional socket design.
According to the researchers, use of the HiFi system resulted in an
increase in the subject’s self-selected gait velocity, prosthetic hip
adduction, and hip extension. Reductions in lateral center of mass
deviation during gait and in perceived disability were also attributed
to the HiFi system.
The elderly subject who participated in the
study was first tested while using a traditional ischial containment
socket, then fit with the HiFi system and tested again after a 30-day
accommodation period. Motion analysis was performed using a 3D,
eight-camera Vicon Motion Capture system. The Oswestry Low Back Pain
Disability Questionnaire v2.0 and Western Ontario and McMaster
Universities Osteoarthritis Index were administered at initial and
secondary testing to evaluate perceived disability. A one-way analysis
of variance and Fischer’s least significant difference were used to
determine the statistical difference between conditions.
The HiFi
Interface system presented some biomechanical advantages to traditional
ischial ramus containment socket designs in this case, according to the
study’s authors, which may allow for increased stability in patients
using a transfemoral prosthesis.
The study was published in the July issue of the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics.
