| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 復健科技輔具研究所 === 93 === Abstract
Falls are one of the most serious accidents for the elderly. Studies have shown that hip fracture in the elderly is closely associated with low bone mineral density of the proximal femur and accidental falls are predisposing factor. In addition to high medical expense, hip fractures are associated with high morbidity and disability.
It is a very important issue to prevent hip fracture in older adults. We have conducted studies to determine whether an external hip protector would be effective under simulated falling conditions. The hip-fall-simulator which consisted of a 12-kg impactor and a surrogate pelvis and with effective stiffness of 75 kN/m was set up to simulate the impact load on the hip of a falling person wearing a hip protector. The surrogate pelvis consists of a hip made by materials of macromolecular compounds of butadiene rubber and with effective stiffness of soft tissue made by materials of macromolecular compounds of polyethylene. Additionally, the hip is embedded in materials of macromolecular compounds of polyethylene with a hip-shaped surface to simulate the realistic pelvis. A load cell sensor is installed in the neck of the hip of surrogate pelvis, and five pieces of pressure sensors are pasted on the surface of surrogate pelvis to measure the axial force in response to external impact force on the surrogate pelvis. One stage of impact-force experiment(3814N) was conducted in a order.
The results of impact trials showed the position of the hip protectors(KPH, SAFEHIP) determined the force attenuation capacity and also influenced the forces applied to the hip of surrogate pelvis. The protectors(KPH, SAFEHIP, HIPSHIELD) could reduce the peak impact force clearly below the literature provided average fracture threshold(3400N±1200N) of the proximal femur of elderly women with a mean age of 71 years in a sideways fall simulation. However, the true efficacy of any protector in the prevention of hip fractures can only be evaluated in randomized clinical trials.
Keywords: fall, hip fracture, hip protector
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