Addressing unpredictability may be the key to improving performance with current clinically prescribed myoelectric prostheses (2021)
Journal Article
Chadwell, A., Kenney, L., Thies, S., Head, J., Galpin, A., & Baker, R. (2021). Addressing unpredictability may be the key to improving performance with current clinically prescribed myoelectric prostheses. Scientific reports, 11, 3300. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82764-6

The efferent control chain for an upper-limb myoelectric prosthesis can be separated into 3 key areas: signal generation, signal acquisition, and device response. Data were collected from twenty trans-radial myoelectric prosthesis users using their o... Read More about Addressing unpredictability may be the key to improving performance with current clinically prescribed myoelectric prostheses.

An investigation of the effects of walking frame height and width on walking stability (2020)
Journal Article
Thies, S., Russell, R., Al-ani, A., Belet, T., Bates, A., Costamagna, E., …Howard, D. (2020). An investigation of the effects of walking frame height and width on walking stability. Gait & Posture, 82, 248-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2020.09.017

Background Walking aids are designed for structural support during walking, however, surprisingly self-reported use of a walking aid (“Yes, I use one.”) has been identified as a risk factor for falling. Adjustment and design of walking aids may affe... Read More about An investigation of the effects of walking frame height and width on walking stability.

Are older people putting themselves at risk when using their walking frames? (2020)
Journal Article
Thies, S., Bates, A., Costamagna, E., Kenney, L., Granat, M., Webb, J., …Dawes, H. (2020). Are older people putting themselves at risk when using their walking frames?. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1), 90. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-020-1450-2

Background Walking aids are issued to older adults to prevent falls, however, paradoxically their use has been identified as a risk factor for falling. To prevent falls, walking aids must be used in a stable manner, but it remains unknown to what ext... Read More about Are older people putting themselves at risk when using their walking frames?.

Upper limb activity of twenty myoelectric prosthesis users and twenty healthy anatomically intact adults (2019)
Journal Article
Chadwell, A., Kenney, L., Granat, M., Thies, S., Galpin, A., & Head, J. (2019). Upper limb activity of twenty myoelectric prosthesis users and twenty healthy anatomically intact adults. Scientific Data, 6(1), 199. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0211-6

The upper limb activity of twenty unilateral upper limb myoelectric prosthesis users and twenty anatomically intact adults were recorded over a 7-day period using two wrist worn accelerometers (Actigraph, LLC). This dataset reflects the real-world ac... Read More about Upper limb activity of twenty myoelectric prosthesis users and twenty healthy anatomically intact adults.

Objective measures of rollator user stability and device loading during different walking scenarios (2019)
Journal Article
Costamagna, E., Thies, S., Kenney, L., Howard, D., Lindemann, U., Klenk, J., & Baker, R. (2019). Objective measures of rollator user stability and device loading during different walking scenarios. PLoS ONE, 14(1), e0210960. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210960

Walking aids are widely used by older adults, however, alarmingly, their use has been linked to increased falls-risk, yet clinicians have no objective way of assessing user stability. This work aims to demonstrate the application of a novel methodolo... Read More about Objective measures of rollator user stability and device loading during different walking scenarios.

Upper limb activity in myoelectric prosthesis users is biased towards the intact limb and appears unrelated to goal-directed task performance (2018)
Journal Article
Chadwell, A., Kenney, L., Granat, M., Thies, S., Head, J., Galpin, A., & Baker, R. (2018). Upper limb activity in myoelectric prosthesis users is biased towards the intact limb and appears unrelated to goal-directed task performance. Scientific reports, 8, #11084. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29503-6

Studies of the effectiveness of prosthetic hands involve assessing user performance on functional tasks in the lab/clinic, sometimes combined with self-report of real-world use. In this paper we compare real-world upper limb activity between a group... Read More about Upper limb activity in myoelectric prosthesis users is biased towards the intact limb and appears unrelated to goal-directed task performance.

Methods for the real-world evaluation of fall detection technology : a scoping review (2018)
Journal Article
Broadley, R., Klenk, J., Thies, S., Kenney, L., & Granat, M. (2018). Methods for the real-world evaluation of fall detection technology : a scoping review. Sensors, 18(7), https://doi.org/10.3390/s18072060

Falls in older adults present a major growing healthcare challenge and reliable detection of falls is crucial to minimise their consequences. The majority of development and testing has used laboratory simulations. As simulations do not cover the w... Read More about Methods for the real-world evaluation of fall detection technology : a scoping review.

A generalizable methodology for stability assessment of walking aid users (2017)
Journal Article
Costamagna, E., Thies, S., Kenney, L., Howard, D., Liu, A., & Ogden, D. (2017). A generalizable methodology for stability assessment of walking aid users. Medical Engineering and Physics, 47, 167-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2017.06.013

To assist balance and mobility, older adults are often prescribed walking aids. Nevertheless, surprisingly their use has been associated with increased falls-risk. To address this finding we first need to characterise a person’s stability while using... Read More about A generalizable methodology for stability assessment of walking aid users.

Visualisation of upper limb activity using spirals - a new approach to the assessment of daily prosthesis usage (2017)
Journal Article
Chadwell, A., Kenney, L., Granat, M., Thies, S., Head, J., & Galpin, A. (2018). Visualisation of upper limb activity using spirals - a new approach to the assessment of daily prosthesis usage. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 42(1), 37-44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364617706751

BACKGROUND: Current outcome measures used in upper limb myoelectric prosthesis studies include clinical tests of function and self-report questionnaires on real world prosthesis use. Research in other cohorts has questioned both the validity of self-... Read More about Visualisation of upper limb activity using spirals - a new approach to the assessment of daily prosthesis usage.

Characterisation of rollator use using inertial sensors (2016)
Journal Article
Cheng, T., Kenney, L., Amor, J., Thies, S., Costamagna, E., James, C., & Holloway, C. (2016). Characterisation of rollator use using inertial sensors. Healthcare Technology Letters, 3(4), https://doi.org/10.1049/htl.2016.0061

The use of walking aids is prevalent among older people and people with mobility impairment. Rollators are designed to support outdoor mobility and require the user to negotiate curbs and slopes in the urban environment. Despite the prevalence of rol... Read More about Characterisation of rollator use using inertial sensors.

The reality of myoelectric prostheses : understanding what makes these devices difficult for some users to control (2016)
Journal Article
control. Frontiers in Neurorobotics, 10(7), https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2016.00007

Users of myoelectric prostheses can often find them difficult to control. This can lead to passive-use of the device or total rejection, which can have detrimental effects on the contralateral limb due to overuse. Current clinically available prosth... Read More about The reality of myoelectric prostheses : understanding what makes these devices difficult for some users to control.

Trial-trial temporal variability in upper limb functional task performance differentiates amputees from controls and decreases with practice (2015)
Presentation / Conference
Major, M., Stine, R., Heckathorne, C., Thies, S., Sobuh, M., Galpin, A., …Kenney, L. (2015, August). Trial-trial temporal variability in upper limb functional task performance differentiates amputees from controls and decreases with practice. Presented at 39th Annual Conference of the American Society of Biomechanics, Columbus, Ohio

Effects of shoe sole geometry on toe clearance and walking stability in older adults (2015)
Journal Article
Thies, S., Price, C., Kenney, L., & Baker, R. (2015). Effects of shoe sole geometry on toe clearance and walking stability in older adults. Gait & Posture, 42(2), 105-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2015.04.011

Thirty-five percent of people above age 65 fall each year, and half of their falls are associated with tripping: tripping, an apparently ‘mundane’ everyday problem, therefore significantly impacts on older people's health and associated medical costs... Read More about Effects of shoe sole geometry on toe clearance and walking stability in older adults.

Feasibility study of a take-home array-based functional electrical stimulation system with automated setup for current functional electrical stimulation users with foot-drop (2014)
Journal Article
Prenton, S., Kenney, L., Stapleton, C., Cooper, G., Reeves, M., Heller, B., …Williamson, T. (2014). Feasibility study of a take-home array-based functional electrical stimulation system with automated setup for current functional electrical stimulation users with foot-drop. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 95(10), 1870-1877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.04.027

Objective To investigate the feasibility of unsupervised community use of an array-based automated setup functional electrical stimulator for current foot-drop functional electrical stimulation (FES) users. Design Feasibility study. S... Read More about Feasibility study of a take-home array-based functional electrical stimulation system with automated setup for current functional electrical stimulation users with foot-drop.

Automated detection of instantaneous gait events using time frequency analysis and manifold embedding (2013)
Journal Article
using time frequency analysis and manifold embedding. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 21(6), 908-915. https://doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2013.2239313

Accelerometry is a widely used sensing modality in human biomechanics due to its portability, non-invasiveness, and accuracy. However, difficulties lie in signal variability and interpretation in relation to biomechanical events. In walking, heel st... Read More about Automated detection of instantaneous gait events using time frequency analysis and manifold embedding.

Automatic detection of lift-off and touch-down of a pick-up walker using 3D kinematics (2013)
Journal Article
Grootveld, L., Thies, S., Ogden, D., Howard, D., & Kenney, L. (2014). Automatic detection of lift-off and touch-down of a pick-up walker using 3D kinematics. Medical Engineering and Physics, 36(2), 255-260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2013.08.008

Walking aids have been associated with falls and it is believed that incorrect use limits their usefulness. Measures are therefore needed that characterize their stable use and the classification of key events in walking aid movement is the first ste... Read More about Automatic detection of lift-off and touch-down of a pick-up walker using 3D kinematics.

Effects of ramp negotiation, paving type and shoe sole geometry on toe clearance in young adults (2011)
Journal Article
Thies, S., Jones, R., Kenney, L., Howard, D., & Baker, R. (2011). Effects of ramp negotiation, paving type and shoe sole geometry on toe clearance in young adults. Journal of Biomechanics, 44(15), 2679-2684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2011.07.027

Trips are a major cause of falls and result from involuntary contact of the foot with the ground during the swing phase of gait. Adequate toe clearance during swing is therefore crucial for safe locomotion. To date, little is known about the effects... Read More about Effects of ramp negotiation, paving type and shoe sole geometry on toe clearance in young adults.

Biomechanics for inclusive urban design : effects of tactile paving on older adults’ gait when crossing the street (2011)
Journal Article
Thies, S., Kenney, L., Howard, D., Nester, C., Ormerod, M., Newton, R., …Maclennan, H. (2011). Biomechanics for inclusive urban design : effects of tactile paving on older adults’ gait when crossing the street. Journal of Biomechanics, 44(8), 1599-1604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.12.016

In light of our ageing population it is important that the urban environment is easily accessible and hence supports older adults’ independence. Tactile ‘blister’ paving was originally designed to provide guidance for visually impaired people at pede... Read More about Biomechanics for inclusive urban design : effects of tactile paving on older adults’ gait when crossing the street.

Simulating acceleration from stereophotogrammetry for medical device design (2009)
Journal Article
Tresadern, P., Thies, S., Kenney, L., Howard, D., Smith, C., Rigby, J., & Goulermas, J. (2009). Simulating acceleration from stereophotogrammetry for medical device design. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 131(6), https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3118771

When designing a medical device based on lightweight accelerometers, the designer is faced with a number of questions in order to maximize performance while minimizing cost and complexity: Where should the inertial unit be located? How many units ar... Read More about Simulating acceleration from stereophotogrammetry for medical device design.

The relationship between frontal plane gait variability and ankle range of motion in middle-aged and older persons with neuropathy (2009)
Journal Article
Carter, S., Richardson, J., Thies, S., Demott, T., & Ashton-Miller, J. (2009). The relationship between frontal plane gait variability and ankle range of motion in middle-aged and older persons with neuropathy. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 88(3), 210-215. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0b013e318194fb3c

Objective: To explore the relationship between frontal plane ankle range of motion (ROM) and frontal plane control during gait, as determined by step-width variability and step-width range, among middle-aged and older persons with peripheral neuropa... Read More about The relationship between frontal plane gait variability and ankle range of motion in middle-aged and older persons with neuropathy.