Kinematics Evaluation of Gait Spatiotemporal Parameters of Transfemoral Amputees While Walking with Jaipur Knee and 3R15 Knee Joints: A Case Study with Indian Population

Abstract

After amputation surgery, patients use prosthesis to compensate missing functionality. The performance of the above-knee amputee is significantly reduced than normal subjects. The knee joint plays an important role in overall performance of the prosthesis. In India, a cost-effective solution like a Jaipur knee joint has been widely used. Many researchers have studied knee joints like 3R15 and 3R20; however, the performance of Jaipur knee joint during gait has not been reported with the 3R15 joint yet. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the comparative variations in spatiotemporal gait parameters of the transfemoral patients with 3R15 and Jaipur knee joints. Gait analysis was performed on 11 unilateral transfemoral amputees. Subjects were longtime users of the Jaipur knee joint. Subjects walked with their comfortable speed to evaluate the gait parameters with six VICON cameras and KINEMATRIX SYSTEM—a 3D motion analysis system. The difference between the performances of the subjects with Jaipur knee and 3R15 joints was associated with the walking speed, which enhanced gait performance with Jaipur joint. The spatiotemporal parameters were compared using the paired t-test method. After the study, it was found that the spatiotemporal parameters of patients were enhanced with the Jaipur knee joint. Subjects reported walking speed of 61.5 m/min with Jaipur knee joint, while the reported speed with 3R15 was 29.8 m/min (p-value = 0.05). Based on the increase in few parameters (p-value < 0.055), the gait symmetry was reported enhanced than that of 3R15 knee joint.