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| Pages: | 1 | 2 | Promoting Outcomes Management in Prosthetics Practice The need to measure and evaluate rehabilitation practice in general and P&O practice specifically has received growing recognition in the past several years. Fuhrer (1995) outlined recommendations for medical rehabilitation outcomes research generated at a 1994 conference organized by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR). Critical to NCMRR’s agenda, and reiterated throughout the report, is the need for valid, reliable and change-sensitive outcome measures to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of rehabilitation practices. More ... Principal Investigators: Allen Heinemann, PhD and Dudley Childress, PhD Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education under Grant No. H133E030030. Gait Initiation and Termination “Quiet” standing and walking (e.g., at a constant mean velocity) are considered “steady-state” activities, meaning that on average the body is neither accelerating nor decelerating. Various aspects of steady-state walking have been analyzed extensively in an attempt to better understand both healthy and pathological gait. However, human locomotion is not entirely a steady-state progression but rather consists of three components: starting, walking, and stopping. The dynamic processes of starting and stopping are much more complex since the human body needs to accelerate and decelerate, respectively, often in a limited amount of time. More ... Principal Investigators: Steven Gard, PhD, and Dudley Childress, PhD Co-Investigators: Student Investigator: Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education under Grant No. H133E030030. Investigation of the Effect of Prosthetic Socket Design on Transfemoral Amputee Gait The loss of a limb, including weight-bearing structures and joints, can place considerable Principal Investigator: Steven Gard, PhD Co-Investigators: Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Effect of Roll-over Shape Arc Length on Gait of Transtibial Prosthesis Users Prosthetic feet that are commercially available have a wide range of mechanical properties, leading to differences in their roll-over shapes during walking. The arc length of the prosthetic foot’s roll-over shape may be an important determinant of step length and loading properties on the contralateral limb. In particular, this study examines the hypothesis that shortening a prosthetic foot’s arc length (in the forefoot section) will lead to increased loading and decreased step length on the contralateral limb. A shortened forefoot arc length is thought to create a “drop-off” effect at the end of single-limb stance phase as the person rolls to the end of the prosthetic foot’s roll-over shape. More ... Principal Investigators: Dudley S. Childress, PhD and Steven A. Gard, PhD Co-Investigator: Student Investigator: Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Pilot Study: Application of Roll-over Shape Toward Evaluation and Design of Partial Foot Prostheses A partial foot (PF) amputation, in theory, should be superior to a transtibial or Symes amputation because the physiologic ankle joint is preserved. Persons with PF amputations should generally be able to walk without their prosthesis, if only to walk to and from the toilet during the night. The remaining ankle and subtalar joints in cases of toe and transmetatarsal amputations (TMAs), should allow these persons to more readily adapt to different terrains compared to more proximal amputations (e.g. Lisfranc and Chopart), where the ankle and subtalar joints are lost or compromised. More ... Principal Investigators: Dudley S. Childress, PhD and Steven A. Gard, PhD Co-Investigators: Student Investigator: Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Pilot Study: Junior Shape&Roll Prosthetic Foot for Children At present, most children prosthesis components are scaled-down versions of the devices that were engineered with adult requirements in mind. However, the little data that are available suggest that children have distinctive features, different from adults that should be taken into account when designing prosthetic components. More ... Principal Investigators: Dudley S. Childress, PhD and Steven A. Gard, PhD Co-Investigators: Collaborators: Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Development of an Equilibrium-Point Prosthetic Ankle Joint The ability to walk on different terrains is a distinct advantage that legged locomotion has over wheeled transportation. However, many features that non-disabled persons utilize on uneven terrain are not incorporated into prostheses and orthoses, making it difficult for persons who use these devices to walk on irregular surfaces. More ... Principal Investigators: Dudley S. Childress, PhD and Steven A. Gard, PhD Co-Investigators: Student Investigators: Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) The Effect of Increased Prosthetic Ankle Motion on The Gait of Persons Increased ankle motion appears to improve the gait of persons with unilateral transtibial (TT) amputation, but the improvements are limited and inconsistent between studies [1,2]. The purpose of the study is to determine if the provision of prosthetic ankle motion in persons with bilateral TT amputations significantly improves their walking performance. More ... Principal Investigator: Steven A. Gard, PhD Student Investigator: Co-Investigators: Funded by: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Pages: | 1 | 2 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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