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The aim of this study is the objective assessment of gait abnormalities in diabetic patients and the quantification of the benefits of physical activity in improving gait quality. Patients were equipped with foot-switches and knee goniometers and were asked to walk at their natural pace for 2.5 min. A statistical gait analysis was performed extracting from hundreds of strides the "atypical" cycles, i.e., the cycles which do not show the usual sequence of gait phases (heel contact, flat foot contact, push off, swing), the duration of the heel contact phase, and the knee kinematics in the sagittal plane. A sample population of 27 non-neuropathic type 2 diabetic patients was examined before and after attending a light-intensity physical activity program that lasted for four months. A fuzzy classifier was used to assign a score to the gait abnormalities of each patient in baseline conditions and after the program completion. More than 50% of the subjects showed a significant reduction in their gait abnormalities and on average, the most frequent improvements were the reduction of atypical cycles and heel contact duration. Furthermore, we found that in basal conditions, the left side is more affected by gait abnormalities than the right (P < 0.003).

Knee simulation has been used as the primary tool in the estimation of knee flexion–extension levels for many years. This paper discusses the suitability of AdamsView simulation tool for estimating the flexion–extension angles in the knee joint, i.e. three versions namely: 3D reconstructed knee joint, standard artificial knee joint and artificial high flexion knee joint. The high flexion artificial knee joint model reaches a maximum flexion up to 120.2°. Whereas the standard knee Joint gets about 84.6°. However, the 3D reconstructed knee joint was capable of producing 134.4°. Thus the usage of the mechanical simulation tools in the medical applications has been proved once again.