I’m scheduled to have a cast made of my stump next week for the manufacture of a “trial socket”. Assuming I can put my full weight on that without too much pain, they then attach a hydraulic knee and fixed foot to see how well I can walk on it.
Prosthetist tells me that since I have to walk up and down 15 steps to get to my condo, I’ll qualify for a high end, microprocessor-controlled leg that’s one step below what military amputees get.
There are high-end, microprocessor-controlled legs that have “golf mode”. I’ll have to see if Medicare Part B covers that. {{ LOL }}
I don’t think that Medicare covers prosthetics for purely recreational activities, but if the leg that’s required to climb a flight of stairs comes with a suite of functions that includes “golf mode” as standard equipment, then you’re good.
My home care physical therapist Dave made a visit today and said that there’s not much more that he can do as far as teaching me exercises and I’m progressing very well. So it’s time to end the home care visits until I actually have the artificial leg. He also said that he’ll never forget me as a patient since he’d never seen anyone go up and down 15 stairs on one leg during his first physical therapy home care visit after an amputation.
It’s microprocessor-controlled. The leg senses what you’re doing (i.e., riding a bike, walking up stairs, walking down stairs, etc.) and changes the performance of the leg to match that activity.
You provide input to the microprocessor by shifting your weight side-to-side and back to front within the fiberglass or carbon fiber socket that envelopes your stump.
They even have devices that are attached to the nerves in your stump that control your knee and ankle. With training, you can even control the leg with your mind.
Sounds like the current generation of hearing aids. It senses what you are doing (watching TV, riding in a car, listening to music…) and automatically adjusts.
Prosthetist said he talked with the clinic manager and they decided to order the high-end microprocessor-controlled leg from the get go.
Usually Medicare requires a patient to get a cheap ($10,000) leg to make sure that they will actually use it, and then order the more expensive model within 6-12 months if it’s required.
In my case, they think my success in rehab reveals little risk that I’ll give up using the leg, so Medicare would actually save money by providing the good leg from the start. I hope Medicare agrees. If they end up using the cheap leg to start, you get to keep the cheap leg as a spare when you get the fancy microprocessor-controlled model.
The leg (knee) they are ordering for me is a German-made Ottobock C Leg 4.
I asked the Prosthetist about the ankle and foot. He said that they’d try a few options once I’m walking on the leg. It would either be a hydraulic ankle joint, or one of those carbon fiber blades.
It’s also possible to program the C-Leg with “golf mode”, surfing mode, etc.
Yes - that is very cool. Well done. It would have shut a lot of people down.
Surf mode - so it’s water proof? I’m still amazed at walking downhill, and the programming required for the bio feedback to ensure you don’t descend to fast or to slow but as fast as you want too while holding your body weight back. That truly is amazing. What’s the battery life? When you step up a stair it helps to lift your entire weight with servos of some type I imagine. How much does it weigh?
No. The model I’m getting is water resistant. The military grade version that costs $120,000 can survive salt water immersion. The microprocessor is basically the same in both.
That last 2% of functionality triples the cost of the leg.
The leg has a gyroscope that maintains your balance. If your weight gets too far off your center of mass, the microprocessor locks the knee in it’s current position to give you the chance to recenter your mass over the leg. The leg also senses if your gait is quickening or slowing and adjusts the stride. I think the battery lasts 15 hours, so you’d need to charge it every night.
The complete leg with the foot, knee and suction cup socket that attaches to your stump will weigh 14-15 lbs. My severed limb was 16.5 lbs, so it’s about the same.
The leg does not have powered servos in the knee that pull up your body weight when climbing stairs. You have to use the hip muscles on the amputation side and your sound leg to provide the upward motion. The military grade model may have powered servos in the knee that produce active lift. The leg I’m getting provides hydraulic resistance against gravity and checks your balance 50 times per second to produce a smooth gait.
The $10,000 leg has a much less capable knee that would make it difficult to climb stairs. It would probably be safer to just go up and down the stairs using my arm strength as I do now, rather than use the cheap artificial leg on the stairs. But the cheap leg would do fine walking on flat, smooth pavement.
I tried on the check socket this afternoon. It was a 95% good fit and I was able to put my full body weight on it without pain. They are going to add about an inch to the top and make a second socket I’ll try on in 2 weeks. They’ll attach the screw fitting for the knee to this socket and see if I can walk on it.
Prosthetist said that they may even have Medicare approval by then and hang the Robo-leg and foot I’ll take home.
The balance issue is interesting. I wonder whether doing yoga exercises that challenge balance (such as Warrior Pose and Triangle pose followed by lifting the upper body) would help your brain work together with the new gyroscopic leg? I’m sure the physical therapist will assign exercises like toe-to-heel walking to retrain balance.
My balance has always been a weak spot so I’m more aware of the mind-body aspect of training than the pure physical aspect. (Since my legs are fine but my head – not so much.)
