All Outputs (41)

Evaluation of a novel biomechanics-informed walking frame, developed through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between biomechanists and design engineers (2023)
Journal Article
Thies, S. B., Bevan, S., Wassall, M., Kurissinkal, B., Chowalloor, L., Kenney, L., & Howard, D. (2023). Evaluation of a novel biomechanics-informed walking frame, developed through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between biomechanists and design engineers. BMC Geriatrics, 23(1), 734. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04443-7

Background: Walking aids such as walking frames offer support during walking, yet paradoxically, people who self-report using them remain more likely to fall than people who do not. Lifting of walking frames when crossing door thresholds or when turn... Read More about Evaluation of a novel biomechanics-informed walking frame, developed through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between biomechanists and design engineers.

Why does my prosthetic hand not always do what it is told? (2022)
Journal Article
Chadwell, A., Prince, M., Head, J., Galpin, A., Thies, S., & Kenney, L. (2022). Why does my prosthetic hand not always do what it is told?. Frontiers for Young Minds, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2022.786663

There are online videos that appear to show electrically powered prosthetic (artificial) hands to be near-perfect replacements for a missing hand. However, for many users, the reality can be quite different. Prosthetic hands do not always respond as... Read More about Why does my prosthetic hand not always do what it is told?.

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.

Methods for clinical evaluation (2020)
Book Chapter
Kenney, L., Kyberd, P., Galpin, A., Chadwell, A., Granat, M., Thies, S., & Head, J. (2020). Methods for clinical evaluation. In K. Nazarpour (Ed.), Control of Prosthetic Hands : challenges and emerging avenues (29-67). Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET). https://doi.org/10.1049/PBHE022E_ch3

This chapter begins with an introduction to the challenges of measurement in upper limb prosthetics. This is followed by an overview of the traditional approaches to evaluation and their strengths and weaknesses. By traditional approaches, we mean te... Read More about Methods for clinical evaluation.

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.

Methods to characterize the real-world use of rollators using inertial sensors – a feasibility study (2019)
Journal Article
Sun, M., Kenney, L., Thies, S., & Costamagna, L. (2019). Methods to characterize the real-world use of rollators using inertial sensors – a feasibility study. IEEE Access, 7, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2919286

Rollators are widely used by people with mobility problems, but previous studies have been limited to self-report approaches when evaluating their real-world effectiveness. To support studies based on more robust datasets, a method to estimate mobili... Read More about Methods to characterize the real-world use of rollators using inertial sensors – a feasibility study.

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.

A generalizable methodology for stability assessment of walking aid users (2018)
Thesis
Costamagna, E. (in press). A generalizable methodology for stability assessment of walking aid users. (Thesis). University of Salford

Walking aids (WAs) aim to improve stability and are used by up to 50% of older Europeans. Paradoxically, their use has been linked to a 2-3-fold increase in the risk of falling. The reasons of this association are unknown, indeed WA use remains poorl... Read More about A generalizable methodology for stability assessment of walking aid users.

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.

Skill assessment in upper limb myoelectric prosthesis users : validation of a clinically feasible method for characterising upper limb temporal and amplitude variability during the performance of functional tasks (2017)
Journal Article
Thies, S., Kenney, L., Sobuh, M., Galpin, A., Kyberd, P., Stine, R., & Major, M. (2017). Skill assessment in upper limb myoelectric prosthesis users : validation of a clinically feasible method for characterising upper limb temporal and amplitude variability during the performance of functional tasks. Medical Engineering and Physics, 47, 137-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2017.03.010

Upper limb myoelectric prostheses remain challenging to use and are often abandoned. A proficient user must be able to plan/execute arm movements while activating the residual muscle(s), accounting for delays and unpredictability in prosthesis respon... Read More about Skill assessment in upper limb myoelectric prosthesis users : validation of a clinically feasible method for characterising upper limb temporal and amplitude variability during the performance of functional tasks.

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.

Older people’s experiences of using tactile paving (2015)
Journal Article
Ormerod, M., Newton, R., MacLennan, H., Faruk, M., Thies, S., Kenney, L., …Nester, C. (2015). Older people’s experiences of using tactile paving. Proceedings of the ICE - Municipal Engineer, 168(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1680/muen.14.00016

Tactile paving has been designed in response to the needs of vision-impaired pedestrians to be independent, mobile, confident and safe when using the external environment. Tactile paving is not without its critics because it can adversely affect ot... Read More about Older people’s experiences of using tactile paving.