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Motivation
* Lower-limb amputations
o Prevalence: 1.6 million persons with lower-limb amputations
o Incidence: 156,000 individuals in the USA lose a limb, and about half have a lower-limb amputation
* Many develop an asymmetric walking pattern
o Social consequence: altered appearance of walking
o Medical consequences: increased metabolic costs, increased incidence of knee osteoarthritis
o Stance time ratio can be used to evaluate asymmetry
+ Stance time ratio is the stance time of the affected limb divided by that of the normal limb
+ Healthy adults have a typical stance time ratio of 1.02±0.02
Lower Extremity Auditory Feedback System (LEAFS) - on shoe hardware
* Software interface:
o MATLAB® GUI
o Modified by the physical therapist during training
o Calculates initial contact and final contact in real time
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