Date of Award

Fall 1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Program/Concentration

Electrical Engineering

Committee Director

Linda L. Vahala

Committee Member

Martin D. Meyer

Committee Member

John W. Stoughton

Committee Member

Martha L. Walker

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.E55H445

Abstract

Training lower extremity amputees to walk normally is quite a difficult task. Amputees must wear a prosthesis so they can walk at all. This allows them some mobility, but their walking pattern may be unnatural. If their gait is temporally asymmetric, they need to exert more energy to move about. This research was initiated to help lower extremity amputees to walk more efficiently using biofeedback gait training. Two types of feedback were developed and tested to determine which method gave the most understandable feedback, validating its use in a clinical setting.

A normal gait cycle uses the lower limbs to create a locomotive pattern which is very energy efficient. If one leg requires more time to step than the other leg, the gait cycle is asymmetrical. This will require the amputee to do a considerable amount of work to walk. Due to the lopsided temporal patterns of the normal and amputated legs, the amputee will tire quickly. Training amputees to balance their gait cycle will lessen the amount of energy required to maneuver and allow them to walk for longer periods of time.

This study includes the design and experimentation of a Biofeedback Gait Trainer. The device includes modules for training with auditory or visual feedback. The biofeedback in each case is meant to help the subject realize their deviation and strive to correct it by responding to the feedback signals. Some gait trainers have been designed with audio feedback and others with visual feedback. These are usually very expensive and therefore uncommon contraptions. This thesis describes the development of a low-cost gait training aid and determines whether a patient understands auditory or visual feedback signals better. Lower extremity amputees were tested with the gait timer, to acquire an accurate measure of their initial walking pattern. Then, they were trained with auditory feedback and visual feedback. Under these circumstances, their temporal gait patterns were examined, in order to determine which feedback technique provided the more understandable information.

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DOI

10.25777/9f49-ht34

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