Bearing technology in sports leg prosthesis

• What was needed: Bearings made of the polymer material iglidur® Z
• Requirements: Absorption of high edge loads and shear forces, low wear and high flexibility for increased wearing comfort
• Industry: Medical technology, prostheses
• Success for the customer: The iglidur® Z bearings successfully replace the metallic bearings. They are described by the users as robust but not stiff and significantly increase comfort. Low wear also leads to low clearance and a long service life.

Blatchford is an English manufacturer of prostheses that uses the latest technologies in the industry to help people around the world with mobility impairments in everyday life. The focus is on the development of foot and leg prostheses that are designed to help users regain this mobility in the best possible way.
This also applies to the "TT Pro", an adapter for leg prostheses that can be used not only in everyday life, but also for sporting activities such as golf. This is because the prosthetic element can allow torsion thanks to an integrated spring, thereby protecting the socket from the shear forces that occur in a sporting environment. This not only enables complex movements, but also protects the user's joints and spine.
The bearings installed in the prosthesis must also be able to permanently follow these movement patterns, absorb the high forces, exhibit low wear and, despite their stability, also offer flexibility in order to provide the user with the best possible comfort experience.

Initially, metallic bearings with a special Teflon coating were used for the adapter system "TT Pro", which primarily enabled high stability.
In the meantime, however, plain bearings made of the special material iglidur® Z have replaced these metal bearings, which offer several advantages in practice. The polymer bearing from our iglidur ® product range easily absorbs the enormous edge loads and shear forces that occur especially during sporting activities. Another advantage is that the material is not completely stiff, but has a high degree of flexibility. This has noticeably increased wearer comfort. Users now describe the movement as particularly soft with a high degree of stability. And last but not least, service life is also a major plus point. Significantly less wear on the components leads to less clearance in the prosthesis and makes the entire system more reliable than before.