During the fitting of the knee, the Prosthetist found that neither of the feet I have been using will work, because the knee is to long. So they had to temporarily give me a old, straight, cheap plastic foot.
The Physio lady and I walked around a bit so I could get a feel for it, But I never felt safe with it. Every step it feels like it is collapsing. This "collapse" is only for a few degrees. But that same feeling with my Total Knee 2100 means I will fall to the ground.
When I step forward, the Genium is designed to hit the ground at a 4 degree knee bend angle. As soon as my body weight is put on the knee it gives slightly until the computer locks the knee from bending further. This is supposed to give a slight "give" and therefore be softer on the stump. But as soon as I try to walk, it goes to 0 degrees with a clunk. There is no resistance in going from the 4 degrees to the 0 degrees.
The Physio lady said to not push back with my stump. With the 2100, I have to push back to make sure it is locked. This Genium should not require that. But how can I ever walk forward without pushing back with my foot to push me forward. If I walk backwards with the Genium, it feels much better than walking forward.
So as I walk, the Genium goes click, thunk, click, thunk, click, thunk.
I am battling getting used to this knee compared to my Total Knee 2100. I am used to making positive that the knee is locked before putting any weight on it. The Genium is supposed to do that thinking for me, so I need to learn to let it do what it is supposed to do.
With my 2100 everything seems "Black and White". The knee is totally floppy, or the knee is locked. The Genium is all "Grey". It is kind of, sort of, floppy, or kind of, sort of, locked.
This Genium knee has 3 accelerometers, and 5 sensors. It detects if I am standing still, sitting, falling, and the speed I am walking.
If the knee detects that there is weight on the leg, and it is straight, it will lock straight. Like when I am just standing.
If the knee is bent in one position for a short period of time, it will lock in that position. Like squatting.
If it detects I am trying to sit, then it will give resistance to the knee bending of about 30 kg (60 pd) to help lower me into the chair.
If the knee detects I am sitting for more than 2 seconds, it goes into power saving mode, and supplies no resistance to movement.
On walking up stairs, if the knee detects a sweeping backward motion very soon after a stance phase, (I have to learn to signal the knee with this action) then the knee thinks I am going up stairs, and it will go all loose until it detects pressure while bent. Now it thinks the prosthetic leg is on the next step up, and will lock in that position.
It does the same thing when walking up a steep slope.
When walking down a steps, or a steep slope, it will act similar to when I am sitting down, and apply resistance, so I can sort of ride the knee down the slope or steps. Going down steep slopes is great. I can do that much better today than ever before with any knee. This down slope walking should speed up my ParkRun time significantly.
I definitely rub people the wrong way. The Physio lady and the Prosthetists seems to just want me out the door. So I left, with the knee not performing anywhere near what I think it should.
As I was leaving, I met the guy that works there that is a double leg amputee. We chatted for about 20 minutes. He is full of useful knowledge, experience, and information.
He says that he tried the Rheo3 (Ossur's Bionic Knee) and the Genium, and didn't like either one. He says he likes to be in control of things, especially of his prosthesis. He says the Bionic knees take to much of his control away. They are in charge of how he walks, not him. He asked me what my profession was before I lost my leg, and I said that I was a pilot. He said that he would be surprised if I liked relinquishing control of my walking to a computer.
He said that first time amputees like the Genium, because it makes learning a prosthesis much easier. He also said that it seem to be liked by non-technical people better than technical people. That is sort of the opposite of what I would have thought. I thought that geeks and nerds would love all the AI and computers.
But then, most geeks I know like Linux and the command line, and the non-technical people I know all like friendly, easy Microsoft.
He also said that when he does rough terrain, he uses walking sticks. The ones like ski poles. He says the extra balance provided, makes him much faster. All the energy used to run the race is still from him, so he doesn't care what others think. He usually doesn't use a cane, crutches, or walking sticks because they are a pain when he isn't walking, or using them. But he says that anytime he can conveniently use a cane, crutches, or walking sticks, he does.
I just read this on line:
The highest of high-end prosthetics right now is the Genium knee, "the Maserati of microprocessor prosthetics,". Ottobock developed the Genium with the Department of Defense, hoping to let soldiers with lower-limb amputations return to active duty. It's waterproof, dust proof, saltwater resistant, and it runs silently. The Genium's estimated cost is around $120,000.
I think the cost has come down quite a bit. The Genium is now about R850,000, which is only about $71,000.
The Genium comes with a nice charger for the batteries. It holds on magnetically, and works through clothing. The battery should last about 5 days.
I have another appointment on Friday. Then I'll try to get them to fix the knee, and I'll get the download for Android to control and program the knee with blue-tooth from my phone.
Till then I'll be walking on a $71,000 knee that goes click, thunk, click, thunk, click, thunk.
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