Monitoring Metabolic Energy Expenditure Via the Prosthetics of Lower Extremity Amputees

Limb loss affects approximately 1.9 million people in the United States, 400,000 of whom have amputations above the knee. It is well established that lower-limb amputees show greater metabolic demands during gait and more limited mobility compared to non-disabled individuals. At present, there is no lower-extremity prosthesis available that can monitor the metabolic costs of the amputee. The proposed solution, code-named TEQUILA (Total Energy expenditure QUantification In Lower limb Amputees), will provide an accurate, low-profile, and easy-to-use metabolic energy expenditure monitor that is compatible with both powered and unpowered lower-limb prostheses, enabling retro- and forward-fit application. The TEQUILA system will also provide real-time user feedback via a wireless handheld touchscreen device (e.g., Android Mobile Internet Device). Such feedback will be helpful to the user, for example, to establish daily activity goals and progress towards meeting them during and following rehabilitation, as well as provide a means of data sharing with healthcare personnel. The handheld device software"app"will also be used to initiate and terminate wireless transmissions by the TEQUILA system. Furthermore, unlike traditional activity monitors that must be separately donned, the TEQUILA system will always be with the amputee, collecting metabolic energy expenditure data whenever the prosthesis is worn.