BACKGROUND AND AIM Education programmes of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) are directed primarily at prosthetists and orthotists. In a multidisciplinary setting, greater attention should be given to other professionals working in the field of amputation, prosthetics and orthotics. This includes, among others, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and residents...

Data on mortality for the ten years following lower limb amputation were obtained from all the 16 surgical units in Southern Finland and the National Social Insurance Institution. In Southern Finland during the period 1984-1985, amputations of the lower limb were performed on 705 patients, of whom 382 (54%) were women and 323 (46%) men. The majority of the amputations, 47%, were performed for v...

Regaining walking ability is one of the most prominent goals in the rehabilitation program following lower-limb amputation. Walking ability in this context relates to a natural, symmetric, sustainable gait. The ability to monitor walking ability and evaluate gait patterns during the fitting and rehabilitation process is fundamental to achieving these goals. Walking function can be assessed qual...

1 Based upon the report of the Panel on Surgical and Medical Considerations of a Conference on Prosthetics and Orthotics held, under the auspices of the Committee on Prosthetics Research and Development, at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., December 12-13, 1966. Funds to support the conference were supplied by the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, Department of Health,...

1 Staff Engineer, Committee on Prosthetics Research and Development, National Research Council—National Academy of Sciences. This paper is a revision of Report E-4, which was prepared on behalf of the Subcommittee on Evaluation, CPRD. The study was supported by Contract SRS-71-8 between the Social and Rehabilitation Service and the National Academy of Sciences. During the past few years, severa...