Feasibility of predicting changes in gait biomechanics following muscle strength perturbations using optimal control in patients with transfemoral amputation

Bone-anchored limbs (BALs) are socket prosthesis alternatives, directly fixing to residual bone <i>via</i> osseointegrated implant. There is a need to quantify multi-level effects of rehabilitation for transfemoral BAL users (i.e. changes in joint loading and movement patterns). Our primary objective was determining feasibility of using optimal control to predict gait biomechanics compared to ground-truth experimental data from transfemoral BAL users. A secondary objective was examining biomechanical effects from estimated changes in hip abductor muscle strength. We developed and validated a workflow for predicting gait biomechanics in four transfemoral BAL users and investigated the biomechanical effects of altered hip abductor strengths.