The current study data provide a transverse characterization of transfemoral prosthesis (TFP) users, their experience and satisfaction with their current prostheses, and their priorities for an ideal prosthesis, from which we can draw numerous insights pertinent to the user-centered design of technologically-advanced TFPs.
User characteristics
The present study cohort presented a range of ages, limb loss etiologies, occupations, employment statuses, and income levels (Tables 2 and 3), reflecting the diversity of the TFA population. A salient feature of the subject sample was the predominance (78.9%) of traumatic causes of amputation, differing markedly from the estimated 16.4% of TFA among total lower-limb amputations [4]. In addition to potential differences in the prevalence of transfemoral vs. below-knee cases among traumatic vs. non-traumatic amputations, this predominance of traumatic and male amputees likely represents a recruitment bias at the primary survey administration site, the INAIL Prosthetic Center—a rehabilitation center for patients with work-related disabilities—an effect reported in previous studies with a predominance of TFAs [28]. Moreover, the significantly greater portion of traumatic amputations among MPK relative to NMPK users is likely indicative of differential prosthesis selection based on overall patient health and activity level (presumably higher among traumatic cases due to younger age and lower prevalence of systemic co-morbidities).
Given the difference in amputation etiology distribution between the MPK and NMPK groups, the observed differences in age at amputation and time since amputation may be partially attributable to the contrasting clinical circumstances and pre-amputation lifestyles commonly associated with traumatic vs. non-traumatic (typically dysvascular) amputations. Whereas traumatic amputations are commonly associated with accidents during rigorous physical activity, non-traumatic amputations are overwhelmingly the result of vascular disease occurring secondary to many years of chronic metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes [41], which is strongly associated with sedentary lifestyles.
User experience & satisfaction
In aggregate, our survey data indicated consistently that subjects with MPKs use their prostheses significantly more frequently (Table 5: daily and weekly), experience a significantly greater sense of autonomy (Fig. 1, Table 6), and are overall more satisfied with their devices (Fig. 2, Table 8) than those with NMPK-TFPs. Specific notable findings and implications are discussed below, by category.
Achieving independence in ADLs and a corresponding sense of personal autonomy is a primary clinical objective of prosthesis use, thus requiring routine, independent prosthesis usage in a range of activities and environments [23, 42,43,44]. To this effect, our study sample shows a significant positive correlation of weak-to-moderate strength (rho = 0.277, p = 0.0001, Table 9) between greater daily prosthesis utilization and greater autonomy among all participants. Moreover, the significantly greater frequency of prosthesis usage relative to NMPKs across home, work, and recreational environments (Table 5) implies both that MPKs may more effectively support the functional autonomy of TFA users over a wide range of activities, and that they may promote a greater overall level of activity. Notably, this effect was strongest for the home environment (f = 0.783), followed by recreational contexts (f = 0.717), followed by work (f = 0.655)—thus implying the greatest differential benefit of MPKs in unstructured personal environments.
Regarding the distribution and differences in reported autonomy between groups, NMPK users exhibited greater variance (IQR) relative to MPK users, both within individual ADL and across all ADLs (Fig. 1; Table 6). In addition to suggesting potentially greater diversity among NMPK users in terms of overall health and function, this trend towards significantly greater autonomy and satisfaction with prosthesis functionality (with mild-to-moderate effect sizes) among MPK users also suggests the possibility that MPK use could facilitate convergence towards positive functional outcomes across a wide range of baseline user health characteristics. Indeed, the persistence of greater autonomy among MPK vs. NMPK users within both the demographically self-similar traumatic and non-traumatic sub-groups (Table 6) supports the latter hypothesis, that the prosthesis could play a significant role in facilitating autonomy in the context of a proactive, personalized clinical rehabilitation program. In particular, the more pronounced differences in autonomy (i.e. stronger effect sizes) between MPK and NMPK users with non-traumatic amputations suggests that patients with lower baseline health and/or functional capabilities may draw additional clinical benefit from the use of technologically advanced TFPs. By contrast, the positive differences in autonomy associated with MPK use among traumatic amputees were generally subtler (often evident in the variance rather than the median) and more task-specific, with the greatest differences observed for the more challenging tasks of stair descent, sit-stand transitions, and ramp walking, in addition to housework. To assess the relative contribution of the prosthesis type to these differences in outcomes in light of inherent differences in overall health and physical ability between traumatic and non-traumatic TFA, it would be worthwhile to further investigate the potential improvements in autonomy that may be achieved by assigning MPKs to users who are typically provided NMPKs in the current clinical paradigm. Such a study could in turn support the refinement of clinical care guidelines on prosthesis selection in line with ever-advancing technological capabilities, so as to achieve better functional outcomes for more patients.
As a concrete clinical outcome complementary to subjective autonomy, the higher reported incidence of falls among NMPK users in the present study did not reach significance (Table 7), which must likewise be considered within a complex interplay of technical and clinical factors. In particular, fall risk among lower-limb amputees has been previously related to various biomechanical factors, including gait asymmetry, muscle weakness, and other neuro-musculoskeletal limitations [45, 46], as well as to environmental factors such as irregular terrain, stairs, and slopes [47, 48]. The prosthesis plays a crucial role in safely negotiating these ‘challenge scenarios,’ with previous studies showing that the use of MPK prostheses can improve motor functions and reduce falls in amputees with lower mobility grades [49, 50], in addition to promoting greater overall movement control, dynamic stability, and functional mobility [3, 11, 51]. As a consequence, users of MPK on the whole may become more active in more challenging environments, thus diminishing the net effect of the prosthesis their incidence of falls. Nevertheless, incidence of falls and functional performance parameters such as walking speed on various surfaces and stair descent ability have all been linked with overall amputee satisfaction, wellbeing, and quality of life [11, 49, 50, 52].
The current study findings thus reinforce an integrated clinical picture in which technologically advanced TFPs can be powerful tools in promoting user mobility and autonomy, but one that must be employed as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation paradigm that emphasizes functional training in addition to proactive psychological support. Further evidence for such an integrated approach is found in this study’s observation that users of MPKs, via their common attribution of falls to personal and attentional rather than environmental or technical factors, exhibited a higher degree of control and ownership of their prostheses, thus highlighting the symbiotic relationship between psychological factors and functional outcomes. Based on the preponderance of past and present evidence, it is reasonable to infer that more advanced TFPs can be more effective than traditional TFPs at realizing user potential that depends simultaneously on various health and dispositional factors, and that thoughtful prosthesis selection and configuration based on individual user needs will thus remain necessary to maximizing the benefit of such devices.
This study’s principal finding that strong majorities of TFP users in both groups regarded their prostheses either as useful tools for achieving personal autonomy or as extensions of their bodies is a positive indicator of successful functional rehabilitation and prosthesis acceptance in the study population. Moreover, the increased sense of anatomical ownership (“part of me”) expressed by MPK users suggests that both naturalistic prosthesis function and the experience of using it in a synergistic manner may contribute strongly to the sense of body schema integration and corresponding acceptance. This implication echoes previous studies that have identified human interaction as a strong factor in improving the subjective sense of control of the artificial leg, thus enhancing the performance and management of ADLs [30, 53].
This study’s observation of significantly higher prosthesis satisfaction with a moderate effect size among MPK relative to NMPK users in all four categories of functionality, comfort, aesthetics, and general characteristics (Table 8) aligns with previous research that has found overall satisfaction to be influenced by several aspects of the prosthesis, including functionality, cosmetics, and usability [31, 44]. While it may be expected that traumatic amputees (91% of the MPK group, vs. just 60% of NMPKs) tend to be more functionally capable than those with dysvascular amputations by virtue of better overall health, it may likewise be true that less healthy and less active individuals have lower mobility demands and/or expectations, thus making the net effect of prosthesis type on satisfaction unclear a priori. This complexity implies both that TFPs should be designed with more than bare-minimum functional autonomy requirements in mind (especially with respect to gait), and also that user satisfaction can be positively influenced by psychological counseling featuring proactive management of expectations and attitudes, regardless of prosthesis type. In sum, the weak-yet-significant positive correlations (Table 9) between prosthesis usage, autonomy, and all aspects of prosthesis satisfaction (functional; practical; aesthetic; comfort), with the strongest relationships between autonomy and aesthetic aspects, mobility-related functionality and general characteristics, further reinforces that higher TFP performance is just one of many factors that significantly influence functional outcomes, overall user satisfaction, and wellness.
Priorities for an ideal transfemoral prosthesis (TFP)
Given the critical role of device design in prosthesis usability and user satisfaction, the evaluation of user priorities represents an indispensable foundation of the TFP design process. Design priorities reflect the user’s values, lifestyle, and goals for prosthesis use, which have been found to vary significantly by prosthesis type and user age in upper limb prostheses [44]. While the median user priorities in the current study likewise varied between MPK and NMPK users (Fig. 3), the magnitude and significance of these differences were highly task-specific and appear secondary to the high variation in priorities between individuals, reflecting the diversity in subjects’ demographic/clinical characteristics (Tables 2 and 3), autonomy (Fig. 1; Table 6), satisfaction with functional ability (Table 8) evidenced by other survey sections. Despite the high variance in user priorities for specific features, common high-level groupings of priorities across all subjects remain pertinent and informative to TFP design.
Priorities for functional mobility (Pr-Fn) The prevailing functional priority of general stability across all TFP users agrees with previous findings among MPK users [50]. Here, NMPK users were more consistent in ranking stability first (mRO 1(1.25) NMPK vs. 2(3) MPK, Fig. 3), whereas MPK users as a whole expressed comparably strong preferences for stability and lifestyle adaptability (mRO 2.5(3.75)). Given that MPK users reported significantly greater overall autonomy and satisfaction with functional mobility than NMPK users, this subtle difference suggests that design priorities are influenced both by user lifestyle (actual and desired), and also by user perceptions about the limitations of their current prostheses relative to their expectations of device capability. Moreover, we note that the highest-ranked functions were those applicable to a range of situations (overall stability, lifestyle-related functionality, adaptability of walking velocity), with more specific tasks of gait on uneven terrain, stair ascent, and ramp walking (up and down) falling in the second tier. Based on our analysis of free responses, “lifestyle functionality” was interpreted by subjects in a variety of ways (some more task-specific than others), thus rendering this priority interpretable in aggregate as a measure of the need for TFP versatility and adaptability to different tasks and environments.
Notably, “work-related functionality” represents an exception to the trend towards favoring versatility, ranking as a moderate-to-lower priority for both groups. The distinction in preference for lifestyle over work-related functionality is difficult to parse, given that potential differences in functional demands between lifestyle and work environments are not easily generalizable, nor discernible from survey data. What may be inferred regardless is that TFP users consider the ability to maintain their desired personal lifestyle a more important determinant of their satisfaction than their vocational ability.
Priorities for Active Assistance (Pr-AA) Overall, TFP user priorities for AA agree well with those for functional mobility, with the top functional priority of overall stability corresponding to the preference for AA during moments of instability. Likewise, the whole-sample trend towards prioritization of ascent vs. descent functions versus their descending analogs in Pr-Fn (Fig. 3) corresponds to the preference for AA in those tasks. This effect is reflected as well in the finding that the most significant differences in Pr-AA between MPK and NMPK users were with respect to stair ascent and incline gait.
The prioritization of different locomotion velocities provides a more nuanced picture: while the high prioritization of adaptability to walking velocity corresponds functionally to the preference for active assistance during fast versus natural versus slow speed walking, the highest speed form of locomotion—running—was among the least prioritized functionalities by both groups. This finding indicates that high speed walking differs significantly from running in terms of its personal value to users—perhaps owing to a difference in social utility. Given the unique biomechanical demands of running, the elimination of this function as a TFP design requirement would enable a valuable simplification in TFP design.
Regarding the future design and development of advanced TFPs, we note that for both gait speed and ascending vs. descending functions, user priorities for AA reflected the biomechanical demands of the highest-priority mobility functions, with preference to tasks demanding greater positive power output. By contrast, controlled descent and lower-speed gait are more easily achieved via the modulated resistance achievable by current MPKs. This high-level correspondence between priorities for AA and for overall prosthesis functionality suggests that these categories may be strategically merged into a single class of design requirements. In line with user-centered design recommendations from the fields of both lower-limb prosthesis design [30] and brain-computer-interface-based assistive technology [54], such a design process should focus first on defining user priorities regarding the desired tasks and activities to be performed with the prosthesis, based on user input. Specific technical requirements such as active knee power should then be defined based on the biomechanical and ergonomic demands of those tasks, so as to enable users to perform their highest-priority activities in a safe, effective, and efficient manner.
Priorities for General and Socket Characteristics (Pr-GC; Pr-S) Current MPK and NMPK users expressed very similar priorities regarding both general device characteristics and socket design. Primary between-group differences in Pr-GC tended to concern more technical, higher-performance TFP traits such as battery life and water resistance (Fig. 3), which likely reflects a difference in applicability of various traits to the user’s TFP rather than a fundamental difference in priority. This finding is congruent with previous findings that user priorities vary markedly based on type of prosthesis [31, 44]. Similarly, the only pronounced difference in Pr-S was the elevated preference for active-cooling by MPKs users. This difference is likely attributable to the higher prosthesis usage in this group (Table 5), which suggests higher overall activity levels among MPK users that would naturally result in more frequent sweating and residuum volume changes. The consistency of socket-related priorities across groups supports the modular design of high-performance sockets that are compatible with a wide range of prosthetic knee types, suitable to a range of activity levels, based on user lifestyle.
User segmentation via clustering of design priorities
The principal component analysis (Table 10) and subsequent K-means clustering of users by design priorities (Fig. 6) present a means of understanding and navigating the individual variation in user priorities. First, the possibility for substantial dimensionality reduction (PVC parameter, Table 10) and the functionally coherent groupings of variable weights within the primary PCs (Table 10, Additional file 1: S1–S3) enable the interpretation of the PCs as representing different ‘functional primitives’ in user priorities, analogous to the concept of dynamic movement primitives [55]. For instance, while Pr-AA-PC1’s primary positive weighting of sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transitions may be interpreted together as an aggregate index of sit-stand transition priority, Pr-AA-PC2 (positively weighted for gait on level ground and at normal speed) represents normal locomotion, and Pr-AA-PC3 (weighted for incline gait and stair ascent) represents ascending forms of locomotion.
This functional coherence among the key dimensions of user variability carries positive implications for the design and clinical personalization of prostheses, by enabling the interpretation of PCs as meaningful summary parameters representing distinct, functionally related subsets of tasks or device features. Taken together with the high compressibility of survey data, this functional coherence facilitates the creation of a consolidated set of functionally integrated performance measures. If evaluated in a sufficiently standardized fashion (e.g. via a clinically validated survey based on the one used in this study), these metrics could potentially serve as both ‘benchmark’ measures to inform the optimal design of advanced TFPs, and as a tools for clinical care personalization. By evaluating TFAs along the primary dimensions of variation in personal priorities, such a survey could be a powerful tool in the selection and personalization of the available prosthesis that best fulfills the individual’s needs, thus offering dramatic improvement over the “K-Levels” used currently for this purpose, which are limited by their lack of both objectivity and standard assessment criteria [56].
While useful for visualizing and conceptualizing the similarities, differences, and variance in user priorities between different user subsets, this method of generalizing PC interpretation presents a number of limitations. First, the largely contiguous (non-separated) nature of some clusters highlights that user priorities fall along a continuum, making it difficult to draw distinct design boundaries corresponding to discrete performance tradeoffs. Second, each PC encodes information from all variables, so the functional interpretation of PCs Table 10 entails some simplifications, some of which are cleaner and more representative than others. Finally, the sub-clustering of cost sensitive users might be more powerful if based on a set of PCs derived specifically for the cost-sensitive segment of the TFP population.
Cost sensitivity sub-analysis
While the segmentation of TFP users by their prioritization of cost did not result in a clean separation of users in the overall priority space summarized by the primary PCs (Fig. 5), the detection of significant across-segment differences in the individual priorities of weight, transportability, noisiness, and cleanability (Fig. 5) provides some useful design guidance. Specifically, the most cost-sensitive users rated each of these other design characteristics as significantly less important (higher ranking number) relative to the least cost-sensitive users, while differences between highly and marginally cost sensitive users appeared marginal and insignificant. Nevertheless, these differences in priorities across cost sensitivity tiers suggest the relaxation of these specific design requirements in lower-cost TFPs. Less stringent weight requirements provide greater flexibility in the choice of mechanisms and materials, while prosthesis noise, cleanability, and transportability represent more superficial characteristics of overall lower priority that can be compromised without significantly affect device performance.
The targeted sub-clustering of users within the most cost-sensitive user segment (Fig. 6) provides a further means for exploring possible tradeoffs in the features and functions of a low-cost TFP. By embedding higher-dimensional sets of priorities in a functionally relevant manner, the PCs enable the interpretation of the user segmentations of the most cost-sensitive users in the Pr-GC, Pr-Fn, and Pr-Fn categories (Fig. 6). Overall, the emergence of visually distinct, minimally overlapping clusters in each 3-PC dimensional space suggests the possibility to optimize different prosthesis versions or configurations for different user sub-segments. For example, Cluster 1 in Pr-Fn space is distinguished by higher Pr-Fn-PC1 values, corresponding to a higher prioritization of gait on sloped surfaces, while caring less about the prosthesis’ speed of functioning, ability to descend stairs, and lifestyle-related functionality (versatility). Thus, a lower cost TFP targeted for this user segment may aim to satisfy challenging design tradeoffs imposed by the cost constraint by favoring a device design specialized for incline gait, with less versatility and slower processing/reactions times. Such targeted user-centered insights may be used to guide the design process in a manner that’s non-obvious from the traditional design perspective of trying to maximize prosthesis performance over the general highest-priority functions for the overall user population. Such targeted tradeoffs can be especially impactful towards lowering prosthesis cost for the most cost-sensitive prosthesis users and payers.
Finally, regarding the influence of demographic characteristics on cost cost-sensitivity, the lack of significant correlation between income and cost priority is explained by the significant correlation between the cost priority and subjects’ level of financial support (insurance) in purchasing the prosthesis. This finding simultaneously emphasizes the important role of health insurance in prosthesis selection, both via direct influence on user priorities and via potential differences in reimbursement of different devices, which can vary significantly by region. Furthermore, we note that the individual user’s sensitivity to cost may not fully capture the net cost constraint imposed by healthcare systems and medical payers.
Application to user-centered design of TFPs
Following from the above discussion, this study’s findings may be synthesized into the following recommendations for the user-centered design of an ideal TFP:
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The safety and reliability of the TFP across a wide range of ADLs are fundamental design priorities for a strong majority of TFA users, preserved across all prosthesis types and other design priorities.
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Individual user needs and priorities vary significantly based on clinical characteristics, personal attitudes, and lifestyle, thus demanding modularity and/or customizability of various prosthesis components and characteristics, such as the dimensions, socket fit, and cosmetics. Indeed, a comprehensive design process should account for the interactions between these components and their net effect on both functionality and satisfaction, as recent studies have found components such as the socket to play a significant role in overall user function with the prosthesis—including gait speed and risk of falls [57].
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A high prioritization of “lifestyle-related functionality” may be interpreted as a desire for functional versatility and adaptability to different activities and unstructured real-world environments. This presents a host of complex design challenges that calls for a combination of modular TFP designs and intelligent adaptive control strategies, enabling device personalization based individual user capabilities and preferences, with the understanding that performance tradeoffs are inevitable. The exploration of such tradeoffs—including the dynamic, interdependent relationship between prosthesis hardware and control—has been well exemplified and further enabled on a larger scale by the recent development of open-source bionic leg by Azocar, Hargrove, Rouse, and colleagues [58].
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The prospective value of active (i.e. positive power) assistance to TFP users varies by task, with assistance desired preferentially during moments of instability, stair/incline ascent, and higher-velocity walking.
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Based on the leading prioritization of shape/volume adaptability among both MPK and NMPK users, the ideal TFP socket design should enable routine modulation of shape and/or volume to accommodate changes in residual limb volume and tissue properties, thus improving comfort and minimizing skin problems. In conjunction, socket designs that achieve smart regulation of temperature and humidity (second priority, Fig. 3) are highly desirable.
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The optimization of prosthesis weight relative to its function (e.g. achieving a high torque-weight ratio [3]) remains an important design objective for many users. However, this priority varies in a significantly inverse fashion with prioritization of cost, thus offering a design requirement that may be loosened in the case of lower-cost, high-preforming TFPs.
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The prioritization of cost as a factor for prosthesis selection is highly variable among TFAs, depending more strongly on insurance reimbursement than on income per se. While user priorities regarding prosthesis functionality and general prosthesis characteristics do not vary significantly according to cost sensitivity, the most cost-sensitive users are distinguished from the least cost-sensitive users by their lower prioritizations of prosthesis weight, transportability, noisiness, and cleanability. Given the limiting role of cost with regard to prosthesis functionality, lower-cost TFPs intended for cost-sensitive users should thus focus on overall stability, reliability, and comfort as characteristics with the greatest impact on quality of life, while maintaining secondary priorities within a safe, functional, and user-acceptable range.
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For the efficient diversification of low-cost prosthesis designs, we recommend that design alternatives be developed in alignment with the functional groupings of user priorities represented by the dominant variable weights in the leading principal components identified in this study.
To fulfill these requirements in the development of future TFP systems, they should be used by TFP researchers and developers as design inputs to a rigorous user-centered design framework such as that proposed by Beckerle and colleagues [30], which posits a systematic process for merging human and technical factors in the design of advanced lower limb prostheses, with particular attention to TFP. Such a process should further explore the functional improvements achieved via advances in TFP hardware relative to those achieved via improved sensing, intention detection, and control strategies—both of which are fundamental to the performance of robotic MPKs [58]. The relationships between key TFP design parameters in all of these domains (hardware, sensing, and control), user preferences, and functional/clinical outcomes should be further explored, as Clites, Rouse, and colleagues have recently investigated for the parameter of prosthetic ankle stiffness [59]. Finally, to make such research relevant to ongoing advancements in neuroprosthesis technology, the relative benefits of various TFP design features and performance settings should also be investigated in the context of advanced neuromuscular integration approaches such as targeted muscle reinnervation and intramuscular electrodes for both prosthesis control and sensory feedback, including the case of osseointegrated prostheses as well [60].
In addition to the above recommendations regarding TFP design characteristics, the present study reveals several valuable insights regarding the human-centered design process. First, the survey’s ranking of user design prioritizes without any corresponding measures of relative priority weighting favored the delineation between TFP features of similar priority, with the tradeoff of reducing the power to evaluate the absolute importance of specific design features. By contrast, non-static ranking schemes such as Best–Worst or MaxDiff scaling [61, 62] may enable more meaningful prioritization among targeted subsets of features. Second, survey questions regarding subjects’ functional capabilities were phrased in terms of subjective satisfaction and autonomy, making them imprecise as indicators of absolute functionality. Though this perspective is suitable for a user-centered design process that holds user satisfaction and wellbeing as its ultimate objectives, subsequent TFP research and development efforts should further investigate the relationship between specific design characteristics, objective functional performance, usability, and user satisfaction. Finally, future studies should evaluate user priorities in a manner that more directly aligns with the actual technical tradeoffs that constrain TFP design, such as the fundamental tradeoffs between weight, power, and functional versatility.