A Translational Alliance between Newcastle University and Ossur

每年，超过5400名英国患者被转介到下肢假肢诊所（2011年），其中超过90%是膝下或膝上截肢者。截肢的主要原因是糖尿病、肢体血管障碍（血液供应丧失）、事故和战场受伤。假肢有可能极大地改善使用者的活动能力、信心和生活质量。通过有效的假肢解决方案，用户可以在日常生活中独立，例如行走，爬楼梯和潜在的跑步。此外，先进的假肢使截肢者能够改善他们的姿势，这反过来又对减少未受影响的关节的磨损产生积极影响。然而，与健全的个体相比，下肢截肢的个体缺乏与来自假肢的脚和踝相关的神经结构，并且缺乏稳定性。不存在用于将反馈信息从假体定向递送到神经系统的技术。作为EPSRC资助的SenseBack项目的一部分，一个经验丰富的英国研究人员团队正在开发一些关键技术，以恢复使用假手的个人的感觉。拟议中的纽卡斯尔大学和Össur之间的翻译联盟（www.ossur.com）将促进将SenseBack项目中开发的技术转化为下肢假肢。在未来十年内，我们的目标是通过Össur制造出一种能够产生机械动力的假肢，能够自主适应用户不断变化的需求，并向用户提供有关肢体和假肢状态的反馈。

Each year, over 5400 UK patients are referred to lower limb prosthesis clinics (2011), of whom over 90% are below- or above-knee amputees. The main causes of amputation are diabetes, limb dysvascularity (loss of blood supply), accidents and injury in the battlefield. Prosthetic legs have the potential to dramatically improve the mobility, confidence and the quality of life of users. With an effective prosthetic solution, users can be independent in their daily living, e.g. walking, stair climbing and potentially running. In addition, advanced prosthetic legs enable amputees to improve their posture which in turn has a positive effect on reducing wear-and tear on their unaffected joints. However, individuals with lower-limb amputation lack the nervous structures associated with the foot and ankle from the prosthesis and, compared with able-bodied individuals, suffer from lack of stability. Technologies do not exist for targeted delivery of feedback information from the prosthesis to the nervous system. As part of the EPSRC-funded SenseBack project, a highly-experienced team of UK researchers are developing a number of key technologies to restore sensation to the individuals using prosthetic hands. The proposed translational Alliance between Newcastle University and Össur (www.ossur.com) will facilitate translation of the the technologies developed in the SenseBack project to lower-limb prostheses. With Össur, within the next decade, we aim to create an artificial leg that can generate mechanical power, adapt autonomously to the user's changing needs and also provide feedback to the user regarding the state of the limb and the prosthesis.