Biomedical technology

Walk test with smartphone sensor can classify fall risk in amputees

In lower-limb amputees, automated foot strikes from a six-minute walk test (6MWT) can be used to calculate step-based features for fall risk classification, according to a study published online Aug. 18 in PLOS Digital Health.

Neuroscience

Perceiving prosthesis as lighter thanks to neurofeedback

Transmitting sensory signals from prostheses to the nervous system helps leg amputees to perceive prosthesis as part of their body. While amputees generally perceive their prostheses as heavy, this feedback helps them to ...

Neuroscience

Phantom limb sensation explained

After a limb amputation, brain areas responsible for movement and sensation alter their functional communication. This is the conclusion of a new study published today in Scientific Reports. According to the authors, from ...

Neuroscience

Studies promising for sensory feedback for hand prostheses

(HealthDay)—By triggering sensory stimulation, transradial amputees are able to regain proprioception; and a slippage simulation strategy can detect slipping in a patient with hand amputation, according to two small studies ...

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Amputation

Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for such problems. A special case is the congenital amputation, a congenital disorder, where fetal limbs have been cut off by constrictive bands. In some countries, amputation of the hands or feet is or was used as a form of punishment for people who committed crimes. Amputation has also been used as a tactic in war and acts of terrorism; it may also occur as a war injury. In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or mutilations are considered a ritual accomplishment. Unlike some non-mammalian animals (such as lizards that shed their tails, salamanders that can regrow many missing body parts, and hydras, flatworms, and starfish that can regrow entire bodies from small fragments), once removed, human extremities do not grow back, unlike portions of some organs, such as the liver. A transplant or a prosthesis are the only options for recovering the loss.

In the US, the majority of new amputations occur due to complications of the vascular system (of or pertaining to the blood vessels), especially from diabetes. Between 1988 and 1996, there was an average of 133,735 hospital discharges for amputation per year in the US. .

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