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STANCE AND SWING CONTROL ORTHOSIS. CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST 
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32020                                                                             

     

1 

 
OPEN  ACCESS 

ABSTRACT (POSTER PRESENTATION)  

AOPA’S 101 ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ABSTRACTS, SEPTEMBER 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018 
 

PERFORMANCE, PATIENT BENEFITS AND ACCEPTANCE OF A NEW 

GENERATION OF MICROPROCESSOR-CONTROLLED STANCE AND SWING 

CONTROL ORTHOSIS 

Nadine Wismer1, OA Alexander Krebs2, Frank Braatz3, Thomas Schmalz4, Andreas Kranzl2, Christian Breuer1 

1 OttoBock HealthCare Products GmbH, Vienna, Austria.  
2 Orthopädisches Spital Speising GmbH, Vienna, Austria. 
3 PFH Göttingen, Germany.  
4 OttoBock HealthCare GmbH, Germany. 

   Email: nadine.wismer@ottobock.com 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32020  

 

INTRODUCTION 

 By enabling users to flex the orthotic leg during swing 

phase and safely lock it during stance phase, stance 

control orthosis (SCO) offers clear benefits compared to 

locked knee-ankle-foot-orthosis (KAFO)1. Since such 

orthoses do not offer dampened knee flexion in the 

weight-bearing condition, this represents a limitation in 

everyday activities such as ramp and stair descent.  

C-Brace, a microprocessor controlled stance and swing 

orthosis (SSCO), overcomes many of those problems. 

Maximum knee flexion angle in stance and swing phase 

during level walking are closer to physiological values 

with C-Brace compared to conventional KAFOs2. The 

patients are with C-Brace able to descend stairs and 

ramps reciprocally2. Furthermore, patients report of safer 

and easier ability to perform activities of daily living3. 

The main aim of next generation C-Brace is a reduction 

in size and an increase of adaptability to the patient’s 

anatomic structure. Due to technological changes, 

improvements especially for difficult ADLs (e.g. 

walking on uneven ground) are expected.  

METHODS 

In this prospective, multicenter pilot study incorporating 

3D gait analysis patients suffering from either lower limb 

paresis or flaccid paralysis (unilateral or bilateral) will be 

enrolled. Patients’ previous orthosis, if available, will not 

be a criterion for inclusion / exclusion. After baseline 

measurement with previous orthosis or no orthosis, 

patients proceed to phase I – the system set up. In the 

phase I the orthotic shells will be designed and fitted to 

the patients and they will be introduced to the use of the 

new SSCO. In the phase II the new SSCO will be used 

during daily life for 6 months. During that time 

measurements will be conducted every two month.  

Collected data include the following: (1) biomechanical 

3D gait analysis to assess performance during walking 

and stair descent, (2) performance based measures 

assessing safety and walking performance, (3) self-

reported outcome measures to assess activities of daily 

living, pain and quality of life.  

RESULTS 

The study is currently running and seven patients have 

been enrolled. Three patients have flaccid paralysis due 

to polio and four patients have traumatic lower limb 

paresis (one bilateral and two unilateral). Patients’ mean 

age is 59.1 ± 10.6 years and the mean time since the 

diagnosis is 31.3 ± 22.5 years. Furthermore, mean height 

is 166.0± 10.1 cm and mean weight is 68.1 ± 13.8 kg. 

Preliminary data suggests very high user satisfaction 

with the new SSCO. Patients report of increased safety 

and reduction in difficulty of performing activities of 

daily living. In particular, the improvements could be 

observed in advanced activities of daily living such as 

walking in crowd, walking on uneven ground, stepping 

on small objects and stair descent. The study should be 

finalized and data collected by June 2018. 

CONCLUSION 

In this study, extensive feedback from new SSCO users 

will be gathered after six months of home use. Due to the 

technological changes regarding the sensor system, it is 

essential to analyse and evaluate its impact on patient’s 

gait pattern and activities of daily living to be able to 

optimize and refine the control method. Testing the new 

SSCO under everyday life conditions is of special 

interest based on the fact that the potential user 

population shows large variation regarding activity level 

and residual motor function and therefore demand for  

stability / support and the behaviour during performance 

varies too.  

 

mailto:nadine.wismer@ottobock.com
https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32020


 

 

Wismer N, Krebs A, Braatz F, Schmalz T, Kranzl A, Breuer C. PERFORMANCE, PATIENT BENEFITS AND ACCEPTANCE OF A NEW GENERATION OF MICROPROCESSOR-CONTROLLED 
STANCE AND SWING CONTROL ORTHOSIS. CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST 
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32020                                                                             

     

2 

 
OPEN  ACCESS 

ABSTRACT (POSTER PRESENTATION)  

AOPA’S 101 ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ABSTRACTS, SEPTEMBER 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018 
 

SIGNIFICANCE 

Clinical outcome measures will provide quantitative 

data. Additionally, feedback from clinicians, orthopaedic 

technicians and physiotherapists will help to direct 

product development in a customer oriented fashion.  

REFERENCES 

1.Zacharias B & Kannenberg A. Clinical benefits of Stance 

Control Orthosis Systems: An Analysis of the Scientific 

Literature. J Prosthet Orthot. 2012; 24(1), 2-7.     DOI: 

10.1097/JPO.0b013e3182435db3 

2. Schmalz T et al. A functional comparison of conventional 

knee-ankle-foot orthoses and a microprocessor-controlled leg 

orthosis system based on biomechanical parameters. Prosthet 

Orthot Int. 2016; 40(2), 277-286. 

DOI:10.1177/0309364614546524 

 3. Pröbsting E et al. Safety and walking ability of KAFO users 

with the C-Brace Orthotronic Mobility System, a new 

microprocessor stance and swing control orthosis. Prosthet 

Orthot Int. 2017; 41(1), 65-77. 

DOI:10.1177/0309364616637954 

DISCLOSURE 

Nadine Wismer and Christian Breuer are full time employees 

of the OttoBock Health Care Products GmbH. 

 

 

 

 

https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364614546524
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364616637954

