ORNL Technology Could Mean Improved Prosthesis Fitting, Design From: Oak Ridge National Laboratory - 12/28/2011 By: Emma Macmillan Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers are developing a portable, wearable system to measure walking patterns that can be applied to real-world activities in a variety of settings, and could be used to help injured soldiers lead a more active lifestyle. "For example, if an amputee soldier wants to train and return to active duty, we need to understand how he or she would fare on a military training course, which you can't measure in a laboratory setting," says ORNL researcher Boyd Evans. The researchers' ultimate goal is to improve prosthesis performance for young adults. The ORNL team also wants to develop a gait analysis system that can be utilized outside of a confined laboratory setting. "This will allow advanced rehabilitation techniques to both be used in smaller clinics and to be taken outside the clinic," Evans says. The data collected from the system is transferred to a computer, and algorithms calculate the motions and forces associated with specific joints. The researchers think this system "will improve the prosthetic fitting and aligning process and help lower the risk of chronic joint disease in this group of wounded warriors," says ORNL researcher John Mueller. Read the entire article at: http://www.ornl.gov/info/features/get_feature.cfm?FeatureNumber=f20111228-00 Links: ORNL http://www.ornl.gov/ Center for the Intrepid http://www.bamc.amedd.army.mil/departments/orthopaedic/cfi/