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The results of a survey of 54 persons with upper limb amputations who anonymously completed a questionnaire on an Internet homepage are presented. The survey ran for four years and the participants were divided into groups of females, males, and children. It was found that the most individuals employ their myoelectric hand prosthesis for 8 hours or more. However, the survey also revealed a high level of dissatisfaction with the weight and the grasping speed of the devices. Activities for which prostheses should be useful were stated to include handicrafts, personal hygiene, using cutlery, operation of electronic and domestic devices, and dressing/undressing. Moreover, additional functions, e.g., a force feedback system, independent movements of the thumb, the index finger, and the wrist, and a better glove material are priorities that were identified by the users as being important improvements the users would like to see in myoelectric prostheses.

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Purpose In children with cerebral palsy (CP), braces are used to counteract progressive joint and muscle contracture and improve function. We examined the effects of positional ankle-foot braces on contracture of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) and gait in children with CP while referencing to typically developing children. Methods Seventeen independently ambulant children with CP and calf muscle contracture (age 10.4 ± 3.0y) and 17 untreated typically developing peers (age 9.5 ± 2.6y) participated. Children with CP were analysed before and 16 ± 4 weeks after ankle-foot bracing. MG muscle belly length and thickness, tendon and fascicle length, as well as their extensibility were captured by 2D ultrasound and 3D motion capturing during passive, manually applied stretches. In addition, 3D gait analysis was conducted. Results Prior to bracing, the MG muscle-tendon unit in children with CP was 22 % less extensible. At matched amounts of muscle-tendon unit stretch, the muscle belly and fascicles in CP were 7 % and 14 % shorter while the tendon was 11 % longer. Spastic fascicles displayed 32 % less extensibility than controls. Brace wear increased passive dorsiflexion primarily with the knees flexed. During gait, children walked faster and foot lift in swing improved. MG muscle belly and tendon length showed little change, but fascicles further shortened (-11 %) and muscle thickness (-8 %) decreased.

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