Personalized musculoskeletal model based multi-muscle force analysis for amputees with transtibial prostheses

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Musculoskeletal Modeling

Background:

• Transtibial prostheses are crucial for amputee mobility, but their optimization requires understanding biomechanical impacts.
• Existing methods may not fully capture subject-specific responses to different prosthetic technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of different transtibial prostheses on intra-limb muscle coordination and inter-limb muscle force symmetry.
• To evaluate the utility of personalized musculoskeletal models for assessing prosthetic configurations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the sDIMS platform to create personalized musculoskeletal models for five transtibial amputees.
• Conducted gait trials with passive and active prostheses under varied damping conditions.
• Employed multi-muscle force analysis, correlation coefficients, cyclograms, and symmetry indices to quantify muscle forces and coordination patterns.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct compensatory strategies in the intact limb of amputees compared to controls.
• Demonstrated that personalized multi-muscle force analysis effectively assesses different prosthesis configurations on a subject-specific basis.
• Quantified muscle force magnitudes and coordination patterns, highlighting inter-limb symmetry differences.

Conclusions:

• Personalized musculoskeletal modeling provides a robust framework for evaluating transtibial prostheses.
• The findings support improved prosthetic parameter selection and the development of personalized control strategies.
• This approach offers practical guidance for optimizing transtibial prostheses and enhancing amputee mobility.