Knee joints such as Blatchford’s Orion 3 adapt hydraulic resistance in real time, providing the wearer with support when moving in any environment or standing still. This model also has stumble recovery technology, ensuring that the knee remains stable should the user falter. This eliminates this risk of amputees falling or injuring themselves when walking or changing environments, and provides users with the confidence and stability needed to move without fear. Such benefits not only make a huge difference to patient safety and quality of life; they also reduce the lifelong care needs of amputees. Prevention of falls is just one aspect – reducing the chances of acute injuries – but effective stabilisation can also cut the knock-on medical problems often experienced by amputees with conventional prosthesis and joints, such as lower-back pain, arthritis and hip replacements.
If patients wearing microprocessor-controlled limbs are less likely to injure themselves thanks to the advanced technology, this has the potential to reduce costs and waiting times at clinics. If fewer amputees have to visit GPs or hospital wards due to prosthetic issues or injuries, NHS time and money can be spent on other areas.

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