Millions of people in the United States are currently living with limb loss. This number is expected to grow as the population ages and rates of diseases such as diabetes that can cause dysvascularity (poor blood circulation in the legs) increase.
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For people with limb loss, prosthetic devices improve quality of life by providing movement and independence. Early prosthetics were uncomfortable to wear, but they may have helped people return to work and feel accepted in their daily lives. We&#;ll explore how these devices have changed over time, from clunky, early designs and materials to modern innovations&#;some of which NIH-supported researchers are developing.
Historians don&#;t know for certain if the first prosthetics were functional or for appearances. According to Katherine Ott, Ph.D., curator for the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian Institution&#;s National Museum of American History, this is partly because different cultures have their own ideas about what makes a person whole.
The oldest known prosthetics are two different artificial toes from ancient Egypt. One prosthetic toe, known as the &#;Greville Chester toe,&#; was made from cartonnage, which is a kind of papier-mâché made from glue, linen, and plaster. It is thought to be between 2,600 and 3,400 years old, though its exact age is unknown. Because it doesn&#;t bend, researchers believe it was cosmetic.
The other prosthetic, a wooden and leather toe known as the &#;Cairo toe,&#; is estimated to be between 2,700 and 3,000 years old. It is thought to be the earliest known practical artificial limb due to its flexibility and because it was refitted for the wearer multiple times.
Approximately 300 years later&#;300 B.C.&#;in Italy, an ancient Roman nobleman used a prosthetic leg known as the &#;Capua leg.&#; The leg was made of bronze and hollowed-out wood and was held up with leather straps.
Other known early prosthetics include artificial feet from Switzerland and Germany, crafted between the 5th and 8th centuries. These were made from wood, iron, or bronze and may have been strapped to the amputee&#;s remaining limb.
A wood and aluminum prosthetic arm invented by William Robert Grossmith in the mid-19th century.
Soldiers who lost their limbs in battle often used early artificial limbs made of wood or iron. For example, about 2,200 years ago, the Roman general Marcus Sergius Silus lost his right hand during the Second Punic War. He had it replaced with an iron one that was designed to hold his shield. Knights of the Middle Ages sometimes used wooden limbs for battle or to ride a horse. And in the 16th century, the French surgeon Ambroise Paré designed some of the first purely functional prosthetics for soldiers coming off the battlefield. He also published the earliest written reference to prosthetics.
Then came the American Civil War in . The record number of amputees from the war caused the number of patents for prosthetics to almost quadruple. One of these patents was for a wooden leg called the &#;Hanger limb.&#; It was the first to use rubber in the ankle and cushioning in the heel, showing that inventors understood they needed to make prosthetics less painful for amputees to wear.
An artificial leg from the American Civil War.
Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is a major provider of prosthetics and a leader in rehabilitation treatments for veterans who lose their limbs during their service. These patients are at risk for polytrauma, meaning they have injuries on multiple body parts, usually from blast-related events.
When this happens, these veterans need multifaceted clinical care and a support network. The Rehabilitation Medicine division at the NIH Clinical Center and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development help treat prosthetic users and conduct research about limb loss.
While prosthetics were still made of combinations of wood, metal, glue, and leather even up to the 20th century, they were becoming more functional. From the late 15th century to the 19th century, France and Switzerland were making artificial limbs that could rotate and bend using cables, gears, cranks, and springs. However, these devices still needed to be adjusted manually. For example, an artificial hand could be cranked shut around a fork, but the person still needed another hand to operate the crank.
During the s, manufacturers started to build more functional prosthetics by swapping wood and leather for plastics and other artificial materials. Still, some of the best prosthetics were out of reach for most people, including veterans. Many of these devices were only designed for specific tasks such as piano playing. They would not become more accessible to veterans until World War I, when prosthetic manufacturing for soldiers with limb loss increased in Great Britain. According to Jeffrey S. Reznick, Ph.D., Chief of the National Library of Medicine History of Medicine Division, such wartime manufacturing (and repair) sometimes occurred in military hospitals. Soldiers recovering in those facilities were fitted with artificial limbs as part of their care.
Today&#;s prosthetics look and work very differently from those made before the late 20th century. More lightweight and durable materials such as plastic, aluminum, titanium, and silicone are common in today&#;s prosthetic devices. They also fit closer to the user&#;s remaining limb. The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center will even tattoo service members&#; prosthetics to help them look and feel more natural.
But what if a prosthetic could move without the user consciously controlling it? That is what the next generation of artificial limb technology aims to do.
An example of a modern bionic prosthetic arm.
Scientists are developing robotics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and motion-sensing technologies for prosthetics. Over the last decade, NIH has funded several projects that harness the brain&#;s electrical activity to move prosthetic limbs using electrodes implanted in a person&#;s remaining muscles. These electrodes send signals to the brain and allow the prosthetic limbs to move more freely.
One example of research funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering is a robotic lower leg prosthesis that creates a more natural walking motion. Researchers at Vanderbilt University created the device with powered knee and ankle joints and with software that can anticipate how the user wants to move.
In addition to these technological advances, it&#;s also important to track how many people use prosthetics and what treatments work best for these patients. That&#;s why NIH, together with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Mayo Clinic, helped create the Limb Loss and Preservation Registry in . This registry uses electronic health records to measure how many people in the United States have limb loss and understand the costs and treatment outcomes for these patients.
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This activity reviews orthopedic prosthetics that are currently used in practice. It discusses both lower limb and upper limb prostheses and the different devices that make up their componentry. Also discussed are the complications associated with prosthetic devices and emerging advances in technology. This activity also highlights the critical role of the interprofessional team in caring for patients with prostheses.
Limb amputation is not uncommon in orthopedic practice. [1] As of , nearly 2 million people in the United States were living with limb loss. That's approximately 1 amputee in every 150 people, and that number is projected to double or triple by . Every clinician will treat a patient with limb amputation at some point in their practice. It is important to understand the factors necessary to care for these patients and their required energy expenditure.
Lower Limb Prosthetics
Lower extremity amputations are not uncommon in the United States. Approximately 110,000 people are subject to some level of major (excluding toes) lower limb amputation each year.[2] Up to 70% of lower limb amputations result from a disease state, most of which are due to vascular disease and diabetes. The remaining lower limb amputations are the result of trauma, congenital abnormality, and tumor. Furthermore, the majority of these amputations are transtibial or at a distal site; transfemoral are less common. Interestingly enough, of the 85% of amputees fitted for a prosthesis, only 5% use the prosthetic limb for more than half of their daily walking.[3]
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The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a classification system to help guide practitioners and prosthetists to select the appropriate componentry based on their potential to be successful with the prosthesis. This is called the K-Classification System for Functional Ambulation and is often referred to as a patient&#;s &#;K-level.&#;[4] This is especially important to consider in patients with CMS payer status not to place an undue burden on families if the particular prosthesis recommended is not covered by insurance.
The K-Classification for Functional Ambulation[4]
Level 0: Does not have the ability or potential to ambulate or transfer safely with or without assistance, and a prosthesis does not enhance their quality of life or mobility.
Level 1: Has the ability or potential to use a prosthesis for transfers or ambulation on level surfaces at fixed cadence&#;typical of the limited and unlimited household ambulator.
Level 2: Has the ability or potential for ambulation with the ability to traverse low-level environmental barriers such as curbs, stairs, or uneven surfaces&#;typical of the limited community ambulator.
Level 3: Has the ability or potential for ambulation with variable cadence. Typical of the community ambulator who has the ability to traverse most environmental barriers and may have vocational, therapeutic, or exercise activity that demands prosthetic utilization beyond simple locomotion.
Level 4: Has the ability or potential for prosthetic ambulation that exceeds basic ambulation skills, exhibiting high impact, stress, or energy levels&#;typical of the prosthetic demands of the child, active adult, or athlete.
The goals of a lower limb prosthesis include it be comfortable, lightweight, durable, aesthetically pleasing, low maintenance, and provide an appropriate degree of mechanical function for the amputee&#;s K-level. The major components of a lower extremity prosthesis include the socket, suspension mechanism, knee joint (if needed), pylon, and the terminal device.
The socket is the portion of the prosthesis that encompasses the residual limb. The initial socket may be a temporary one, sometimes referred to as a preparatory socket. It can be formed with the use of a plaster molding of the residual limb as a template. It is used in the acute setting after amputation as swelling continues to decrease and the surgical incision heals.
The prosthetic socket serves several important roles. It protects the residual limb but also allows for weight-bearing and load distribution. The most commonly used socket today is a patellar tendon-bearing (PTB) prosthesis. This socket is used specifically for transtibial amputations. More modern designs have incorporated hydrostatic loading to more evenly distribute the load through the residual limb, also known as a total-surface bearing.[5] These designs help prevent skin breakdown and are more comfortable for the amputee.
The suspension mechanism attaches the prosthesis to the residual limb. This can be accomplished with the use of belts, wedges, locks, and/or suction. Some suspension designs are created using a hybrid of the aforementioned elements. The two types of standard suspension mechanisms are locking and suction, each of which utilizes a silicone-based sock applied over the residual limb, which is then inserted into the socket. The locking system utilizes a pin or strap adhered to the silicone sock and a distal mechanism that fastens to the pin or strap respectively. A suction suspension system utilizes a similar silicone sock with a one-way expulsion valve and sealing sleeve on the socket to create an air-tight seal, stabilizing the limb from the proximal seal downward.
An articulating knee joint is sometimes appropriate for the prosthesis. These may consist of a single axis simple hinge joint or a polycentric axis with multiple centers of rotation. The simplest and most commonly used mechanism is the single axis hinge joint, of which the primary function is to provide articulation, allow knee flexion in swing-phase, and resist knee flexion during weight-bearing.[6] A polycentric knee joint incorporates four and six-bar mechanisms to enhance stance-phase stability and swing-phase kinematics. Although highly successful in developed countries, the cost and complexity associated with polycentric knee joints make them limited in developing countries.
Even more expensive modern designs have made use of microprocessor-controlled hydraulic knee joints that provide more reliable control when ambulating at different speeds, going up and downstairs, and walking on uneven surfaces.
The pylon or &#;shell&#; portion of a prosthetic is what attaches the socket to the terminal device. It can also be referred to as the containment socket. Recent advances in prosthetic technology have paved the way for dynamic pylons that permit axial rotation and absorb energy from the residual limb. These can be endoskeletal or exoskeletal, whichever is more functionally appropriate and aesthetically pleasing for the amputee.
The terminal device is the last piece of the prosthetic puzzle. This is typically a traditional looking foot, but more customized devices exist for high-level athletes. Ankle function is typically built into the terminal device, however, separate ankle joints may be beneficial in some patient populations. The drawback to these higher-functioning prostheses with ankle joints is the added weight to the distal end of the prosthesis. This added weight requires more energy expenditure and limb strength to control the additional degree of freedom.
The prosthetic foot serves to provide a stable surface, absorb shock, replace lost muscle function, replicate the anatomic joint, and restore aesthetics. Terminal devices can be broken down into non-energy-storing feet and energy-storing feet.
Non-energy-storing feet include a single-axis foot and solid ankle cushioned heel (SACH). The SACH has been extremely popular since its inception and uses a compressible material in the heel to mimic ankle plantarflexion, permitting a smooth gait. It is a great option for the K-1 level ambulator or a sedentary patient with a transfemoral or transtibial amputation.[2] The single-axis foot adds passive plantarflexion and dorsiflexion, increasing stance phase stability.
Energy-storing feet include the multiaxis foot and the dynamic response foot. The multiaxis foot adds inversion, eversion, and rotation to the traditional abilities of the single-axis foot. The increased degrees of freedom of the multiaxis foot make it a great option for the K-2 and K-3 level ambulators who can perform even light to moderate level activity.
The dynamic response energy-storing foot is considered top-of-the-line when it comes to lower extremity terminal prosthetic devices and is reserved for younger, more athletic populations. This device uses a flexible keel that deforms under pressure and returns to its original shape when the load is removed.[7] This allows for higher-level functions such as running and competitive sports participation. These terminal devices are suitable for the K-3 and K-4 level ambulatory.
Upper Limb Prosthetics
Upper extremity amputations are certainly rarer than lower extremity amputations. As of , approximately 41,000 people in the United States were living with major (excluding hand and finger, etc.) upper extremity amputations.[1] This number is expected to triple by the year , following the same trend as lower extremity amputations. Approximately 80% of major upper extremity amputations are the result of traumatic injury.[1] The remainder is secondary to vascular disease, tumor, and infection.
Transradial amputations are the most common amputation performed proximal to the wrist.[8] At this level, preservation of a least 5cm is important for prosthesis fitting.[9] Prosthetic fitting for upper extremity amputations can begin much quicker than for lower extremity amputations due to less concern for wound breakdown, with some centers fitting immediately postoperatively.[10] Early fitting in upper extremity prostheses can protect the stump site, help control pain and edema, and lead to improved outcomes.
Orthopedic surgeons and prosthetists should consider amputation level, expected functional outcomes, financial resources, aesthetic importance, and job requirements of the amputee when fitting for a prosthesis. Like lower extremity prostheses, there are a variety of upper extremity prostheses available to patients. These include cosmetic, body-powered, myoelectric, and hybrid prostheses.[11]
Cosmetic prostheses are generally the most lightweight prostheses available and require the least amount of harnessing.[9] That being said, they provide the least amount of function for the amputee. Body-powered prostheses come at a moderate cost and weight but are the most durable on the market. They provide the most sensory feedback but are less aesthetically pleasing and require more gross limb movement. Myoelectric prostheses function by transmitting electrical activity from muscle contraction to surface electrodes on the residual limb. These electrical signals are then sent to the motor to initiate the function of the terminal device. These devices tend to be the most expensive prostheses available. They are heavier, provide less sensory feedback, and require the most training for amputees. However, they do provide more functional use and are more aesthetically pleasing. Hybrid prostheses use a combination of myoelectrical devices and cables to perform a multitude of functions. Transhumeral amputees generally use these devices.
The goals of upper extremity prostheses are similar to lower extremity prostheses. The major components of upper extremity prostheses include the terminal devices, wrist units, elbow units, and shoulder units.
Terminal devices can be passive or active. Passive devices are cheaper more aesthetically pleasing than active devices but provide less function. Newer materials can produce prostheses that are nearly indistinguishable from a native hand. Active terminal devices are more expensive but allow for more function. They are generally divided into hooks and prosthetic hands with myoelectric devices and cables. There are 5 types of grips available that can be selected based upon desired prosthetic function. These include precision grips (pincer function), tripod grips (3-jaw pinch), lateral pinch grips (key pinch), hook power grips (carrying a briefcase), and spherical grips (turning a doorknob). Hand-like devices are a good choice for patients that work in an office setting, while non-hand prehension, or grasping) devices are better for laborers&#;another factor to consider is whether a voluntary opening or a voluntary closing mechanism would best suit the patient.
Wrist components often come in several flavors. A quick-disconnect unit allows for a simple exchange of different types of terminal devices. This allows patients to perform a multitude of functions. A locking wrist unit is one that prevents rotation during lifting and grasping. Wrist flexion units allow for flexion and extension.
Elbow units are generally either rigid or flexible. A rigid elbow hinge unit can be used when an amputee can still perform elbow flexion but lacks pronosupination. These devices can provide increased stability, especially in patients with a short transradial amputation stump. A flexible elbow hinge can be selected for patients who retain sufficient pronosupination in addition to flexion and extension. These devices are desirable for patients with a wrist disarticulation or long transradial amputation stump and provide more function for the patient.
For patients with amputations at the level of the shoulder, prosthesis fitting becomes much more difficult. The increased weight and energy expenditure of prostheses at this level lead many patients to choose a prosthetic that is purely aesthetic in nature. Cosmetic prostheses in this patient population improve self-image, confidence, and the fit of clothing.
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