This paper presents a review on design issues and solutions found in active lower limb prostheses. This review is based on a systematic literature search with a methodical search strategy. The search was carried out across four major technical databases and the retrieved records were screened for their relevance. A total of 21 different active prostheses, including 8 above-knee, 9 below-knee and 4 combined knee-ankle prostheses were identified. While an active prosthesis may help to restore the functional performance of an amputee, the requirements regarding the actuation unit as well as for the control system are high and the development becomes a challenging task. Regarding mechanical design and the actuation unit high force/torque delivery, high efficiency, low size and low weight are conflicting goals. The actuation principle and variable impedance actuators are discussed. The control system is paramount for a “natural functioning” of the prosthesis. The control system has to enable locomotion and should react to the amputee’s intent. For this, multi-level control approaches are reviewed.

Physical therapy for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis (LE) often comprises movement therapies, extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ECSWT), low level laser therapy (LLLT), low frequency electrical stimulation or pulsed electromagnetic fields. Still, only ECSWT and LLLT have been meta-analytically researched. PUBMED, EMBASE and Cochrane database were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methodological quality of each study was rated with an adapted version of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) checklist. Pain reduction (the difference between treatment and control groups at the end of trials) and pain relief (the change in pain from baseline to the end of trials) were calculated with mean differences (MD) and 95 %-Confidence intervals (95 % CI). One thousand one hundred thirty eight studies were identified. One thousand seventy of those did not meet inclusion criteria. After full articles were retrieved 16 studies met inclusion criteria and 12 studies reported comparable outcome variables. Analyses were conducted for overall pain relief, pain relief during maximum handgrip strength tests, and maximum handgrip strength. There were not enough studies to conduct an analysis of physical function or other outcome variables. Differences between treatment and control groups were larger than differences between treatments. Control group gains were 50 to 66 % as high as treatment group gains. Still, only treatment groups with their combination of therapy specific and non-therapy specific factors reliably met criteria for clinical relevance. Results are discussed with respect to stability and their potential meaning for the use of non-therapy specific agents to optimize patients’ gain.

Not only since COVID-19, the topic of decentralized working and learning methods is becoming increasingly important for various reasons. New virtual reality technologies enable learning in immersive scenarios, which is good when learning from home is advised. However, not all immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) training incorporates learning systems that support complex, realistic, practical tasks that lead to a product or enable acquiring knowledge and life-enhancing skills like project-based learning. Although there are many iVR applications available that support project management, the specific features of these applications that lead to the intention to use (and therefore life-enhancing skills) have yet to be discovered. In this exploratory mixed-method study, we investigated the question of the importance of perceived usefulness (PU) and job relevance (JR) as predictors of intention to use (ItU) in a selection of immersive iVR application features. We started with market research and aggregated 88 software features in 13 categories of 34 professional iVR applications. After an expert selection and ranking procedure, a survey was developed. After deriving from the TAM 2 model and with a sample n = 103, we computed the relationship of JR, PU, and ItU. Although high values were generally observed, we found that the importance of PU is higher than JR when it comes to ItU. Limitations of the study are discussed, and suggestions for further research are given.