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Methods for characterization of mechanical and electrical prosthetic vacuum pumps. Oluseeni Komolafe, PhD; Sean Wood, MS; Ryan Caldwell, CP; Andrew Hansen, PhD; Stefania Fatone, PhD, BPO(Hons). Aim
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Methods for characterization of mechanical and electrical prosthetic vacuum pumps Oluseeni Komolafe, PhD; Sean Wood, MS; Ryan Caldwell, CP; Andrew Hansen, PhD; Stefania Fatone, PhD, BPO(Hons)
Aim • Identify important pump-performance metrics and develop techniques to characterize evacuation performance of prosthetic vacuum pumps. • Relevance • Despite increasingly widespread adoption of vacuum-assisted suspension systems in prosthetic clinical practices, gaps exist in the scientific knowledge guiding clinicians’ choices of existing products.
Method • Sensitivity of proposed techniques were assessed by characterizing evacuation performance of prosthetic pumps in bench-top testing : • 2 electrical (Harmony e-Pulse and LimbLogic VS). • 3 mechanical (Harmony P2, Harmony HD, and Harmony P3). • 5 fixed volume chambers (33 to 197 cm3) were used to represent different air volume spaces between prosthetic socket and liner-clad residual limb. • All measurements were obtained at 57.6 kPa vacuum gauge pressure.
Results • Proposed techniques demonstrated sensitivity to: • Different electrical and mechanical pumps. • To a lesser degree, different setting adjustments. • Sensitivity was less pronounced for mechanical pumps. • Future improvements for testing of mechanical vacuum pumps were proposed.
Conclusion • Study demonstrates techniques feasible as standards for assessing evacuation performance of prosthetic vacuum pump devices.