Development of a Bioimpedance and sEMG Fusion Sensor for Gait Phase Detection: Validation with a Transtibial Amputee.

Accurate gait phase detection is crucial for safe and efficient robotic prosthesis control in lower limb amputees. Several sensing modalities, including mechanical and biological signals, have been proposed to improve the accuracy of gait phase detection. In this paper, we propose a bioimpedance and sEMG fusion sensor for high-accuracy gait phase detection. We fabricated a wearable band-type sensor for multichannel bioimpedance and sEMG measurement, and we conducted gait experiments with a transtibial amputee to obtain biosignal data. Finally, we trained a deep-learning-based gait phase detection algorithm and evaluated its detection performance. Our results showed that using both bioimpedance and sEMG yielded the highest accuracy of 95.1%. Using only sEMG yielded a higher accuracy (90.9%) than that using only bioimpedance (85.1%). Therefore, we conclude that using both signals simultaneously is beneficial for improving the accuracy of gait phase detection. In addition, the proposed sensor can be applied to several applications by improving the accuracy of motion intention detection.

Percutaneous acetabular anchoring pin-assisted cephalomedullary nailing for subtrochanteric and unstable intertrochanteric fractures.

It is important to maintain acceptable reduction and make suitable entry when performing cephalomedullary nailing for subtrochanteric and unstable intertrochanteric fractures; however, this is often challenging due to deforming forces or the unstable nature of the fracture itself. Several percutaneous reduction techniques for fractures have been introduced, but, in some cases, a loss of reduction during the nailing procedure is experienced. To prevent this problem, it is important to keep the proximal fragment stable for the entire nailing procedure. The present study reports favourable outcomes for cephalomedullary nailing for subtrochanteric and unstable intertrochanteric fractures when percutaneous acetabular anchoring pin is used to maintain the proximal fragment stably in the reduced position.