A study that aims to improve the protocol in the alignment process of the prosthesis in transfemoral amputees, which arises as a result of a research project carried out byAndrés Mauricio Cárdenas for his doctoral thesis,It is developed in Mahavir Kmina as part of an agreement with the University of Antioquia, in order to provide a better service to the beneficiaries of the Corporation.

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The project arises after identifying the need to guarantee a successful alignment in lower limb prostheses, in order to avoid related problems such as back pain, damage to the joints of the healthy leg: hip, knee or ankle, among other effects. in amputated patients. About this, Jesús Alberto Plata, technical director of the Mahavir Kmina Corporation, mention the following:

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“Developing a dynamic alignment protocol will allow us to have more tools that seek to guarantee and promote a successful prosthetic adaptation, especially in patients who use polycentric prosthetic joints. This protocol will be a complement to our alignment system that we carry out on a day-to-day basis with our beneficiaries”.

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For the adaptation of the prosthesis, the prosthesis technician must guarantee an adequate alignment, which is determined by recognizing the distribution of loads that the patient exerts on his healthy leg and the prosthesis, by checking that the hip is straight, exerting pressure on the iliac crests and, finally, when analyzing the gait of the amputee patient. These processes turn out to be subjective, as they are subject to observation and communication between the beneficiary and the prosthetist.

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As a consequence of subjectivity,Cardenas proposes the use of electronic tools to record the patient's movements while alignment changes are made to the prosthesis, in order to carry out a more objective prosthetic adaptation. For this, six infrared cameras, electromyography equipment, and a thermal camera are used as tools to monitor the amputee's movements by digitizing posture and gait, muscle activity in the healthy limb, and pressure points on the stump. .

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At the end of the study, the alignments will have been analyzed in 20 beneficiaries with transfemoral amputations, who must remain in the Corporation for one week, each, to take measurements, manufacture the prosthesis, analyze the alignment and final adaptation.

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The study “Protocol for alienation of transfemoral mechanical prostheses based on a multivariate biomechanical model”, sponsors the 20 prostheses used for the analysis and Mahavir Kmina contributes the knowledge in the manufacture of the prosthesis and the technical personnel.If you wish to benefit from this study, please contact Mahavir Kmina at +(574) 3792729.