Kris' story: an adapttech case study
You may have already noticed that we are sharing real world experiences, like Leslie’s story, through our Blog and other social media platforms to demonstrate how INSIGHT® helps patients improve their quality of life.
This week, we would like to present to you Kris’ Case Study.
KRIS’ STORY
Kris is a 65-year-old woman and is employed part-time. She experienced a right transtibial amputation due to a failed knee replacement and has only been using her prosthesis for 3 years.
Kris has a 2” tibial length followed by 4” of excess tissue at the end of her limb. She has experienced significant difficulties with control within her socket due to the excess tissue causing movement; while also experiencing a of lack of sensation in her residual limb, hindering her entire adaptation process.
A previous prosthesis was made for Kris using traditional methods and took a total of 15 visits over 2 months (including follow up appointments) for completion of the final prosthesis. Her current prosthesis made using INSIGHT has reduced the total number of appointments to just 9 visits.
We would love to share with you how this was possible!
THE APPOINTMENT
Kris was in the process of receiving a socket replacement, as her distal end needed stability and control due to experiencing significant volume changes throughout the day, resulting in a need for adjustability. Using INSIGHT, an adjustable RevoFit prosthetic socket was fitted successfully.
During her appointment, sensors were placed along the two anterior pretibial panels, and another on the posterior calf panel. An additional sensor was placed between the two pretibial panels to assess pressure on the short and quite sensitive tibia.
The INSIGHT System helped to assist with the fitting and location of the panel placement, to ensure it was optimal for final fabrication.
The first scan of pressure input demonstrated that the medial pretibial pad was located too far back on the socket and was therefore pushing too much on to the medial border of the tibia. Kris was unable to feel this due to excessive redundant tissue and lack of sensation.
INSIGHT identified a problem that if left unaddressed, eventually would have led to significant skin breakdown and irritations with the definitive socket. This would also have cost the clinic additional time and resources to fabricate a new socket.
“The process was much smoother this time around. During previous appointments we had to take my prosthesis and liner on and off multiple times to inspect my skin frequently under the adjustable socket system.” Kris
INSIGHT® SOLUTION
After the panel was adjusted, INSIGHT was used to perform another pressure reading which revealed that the posterior panel was not sitting flush on the gastrocnemius muscle, and the pads needed to be contoured. The fiberglass wrap around the socket obstructs the view of the adjustable panels prohibiting clinicians from seeing whether smooth total contact is achieved – this is where INSIGHT brings added value! The posterior pad was adjusted, improving the fit on the contour of her limb.
“The INSIGHT System provided me with the information to understand that modifications to the prosthesis were clearly necessary before going into final fabrication. The RevoFit adjustable sockets are a great option for patients, however they are a challenge to fit diagnostically. This is due to the fiberglass needed to hold the RevoFit BOA system in place. With INSIGHT, I was able to assess these systems with much greater success.” Prosthetist
Our focus has always been to create innovation that benefits patients and prosthetists. As demonstrated in this study, INSIGHT helped to improve clinical performance by giving providing precise and quantitative data.
