Riley Phipps
McNair Scholar 2022
Riley Phipps is a sports exercise science major in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at West Texas A&M University. He is a senior anticipating graduation in Spring 2023. After attaining a bachelor’s degree, Riley intends to pursue a master’s degree, and eventually a Ph.D., in exercise physiology. Once he completes his education, he would like to work in prosthetics research and development.
“I really enjoyed getting to know my cohort this summer. Everyone was super helpful and supportive of each other, and it made the summer a lot more enjoyable and less stressful.” -Riley Phipps
"Comparing Metabolic Expenditure of Prosthetic Knee Joints in Adult Transfemoral Amputees: A Meta-Analysis"
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lee Doernte
There are two main types of prosthetic knees used in amputees who ambulate today: mechanical knees and microprocessor knees. Mechanical knees use body weight to lock and unlock the knee. They may also use hydraulics, pneumatics, or springs to control the knee’s swing. The microprocessor knees have a microprocessor that controls the flow of hydraulic fluid through the cylinder to control the swing of the knee. These knees are more expensive, but anecdotally, they make walking easier. In this meta-analysis, we will be looking at the metabolic differences between mechanical and microprocessor units in adult unilateral transfemoral amputees. We want to determine if it is less metabolically costly to utilize a microprocessor knee than a mechanical unit. We performed searches in PubMed, Medline, Embase, web of science, core, google scholar, and Scopus. We carried out analyses according to the recommendations of the Cochrane handbook and using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3.3 software package. Our results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the microprocessor and mechanical knee units. We found that amputees used an average of .8L less oxygen per minute with the microprocessor knee. This reduction in oxygen consumption shows a reduction in energy expenditure to walk with the microprocessor knee. When walking is less taxing, the individual may be able to walk more and have more energy for activities of daily living.