Step and Stride Length Characteristics of the Transtibial Amputee Walking Gait for using and without using Functional Ankle Joint Component

The application appropriate technology in the form of cosmetic and functional ankle joint for prosthetic leg user is equivalent to the K3 level which enables ambulation with variable cadence. The purpose of this study is to compare the gait characteristics between transtibial amputee when wearing endoskeletal prosthetic leg equipped with a multi-axis and energy store-return ankle joint technology and exoskeletal prosthetic leg without the technology during walking. A cross-over design study has been conducted towards the 14 transtibial amputees age 27.50 years (±7.37) and with body mass index 20.19 kg/m2 (±1.62). Gait characteristics are evaluated using a Digital SLR camera with 120 frames per second video recording. The measured gait parameters are include the time required during the stance phase and swing phase, right and left step, and stride length. There was a significant differences in gait characteristic of the amputee when using the endoskeletal prosthetic leg and the exoskeletal during stance and swing phase (p =0.015), step left (p = 0.025), step right (p < 0.0001) and stride length (p < 0.0001). The result is the using of endoskeletal prosthetic foot with the ankle joint technology can produce faster but more consistence movement for both normal and amputated leg.