THE IMPACT OF A SENSOR BASED PLATFORM ON THE OUTCOME OF MEDIAL OFF-LOADER BRACING IN INDIVIDUALS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A PILOT RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL.

Objective: Determine the effectiveness of a medial off-loader brace with sensor monitoring capabilities and associated phone application in improving outcomes for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: Randomized clinical trial of participants with knee OA, aged 40-75 with two groups: 1) brace-only 2) brace+sensor (sensor providing walking time, knee range of motion and 7-day activity streak). Both groups received a prefabricated custom-fitted medial off-loader brace and 12-week self-guided exercise therapy program.

Implications of EMG channel count: enhancing pattern recognition online prosthetic testing.

Introduction: Myoelectric pattern recognition systems have shown promising control of upper limb powered prostheses and are now commercially available. These pattern recognition systems typically record from up to 8 muscle sites, whereas other control systems use two-site control. While previous offline studies have shown 8 or fewer sites to be optimal, real-time control was not evaluated.