Genium™ is here!

Earlier this year, Dan became one of the first civilian amputees in the United States to be fitted with the Genium™ microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee system. The Genium™ was developed by Otto Bock Health Care alongside its cousin, the military-spec X-2™ knee. Years of experience with the C-Leg™ and tens of thousands of amputee users’ feedback enabled Otto Bock to make major improvements to their microprocessor-controlled knee technology.

The X-2™ knee is fitted to military servicemen who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The civilian version of the X-2™ is the Genium™ microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee system, and it is available today for fitting.

In the few short months that the Genium™ has been available to the public, it is already changing amputees’ lives and improving patients’ freedom, independence, and comfort.

Intuitive and Auto-Adaptive

Genium™ is designed, above all, to make all functions of using an above-knee prosthesis much more natural for the amputee. You shouldn’t have to think, “I’m going to be standing in line now, I’d better concentrate to keep my prosthesis secure for standing.” The prosthesis should just do it, without the amputee having to make a special effort to stand, sit down, get up, speed up, slow down, pivot and turn, step backward, or any of the other changes in direction and speed that everyone does every day.

The Genium™ does just that. Genium’s™ microprocessors and internal gyroscope (like the gyroscopes that enable the Nintendo Wii™ to recognize your movements) sense every tiny change in direction and attitude and the knee reacts accordingly. When you’re standing still, the knee recognizes that, and makes adjustments to keep itself (and you) safe and secure. When you speed up or slow down during walking, the knee recognizes that and adjusts the resistances accordingly, so that the knee is safe and unbending when it needs to be, and swinging through easily when it needs to. Genium™ represents the first prosthetic knee to do this autoadaptively; that is, instantaneously, without conscious direction from the user, the knee makes the decisions and adjustments needed to suit its user, regardless of terrain or situation.

Step-Over-Step Stair Climbing and
Backwards Walking

Genium™ is the first prosthetic knee to support both step-over-step stair climbing and backwards walking. This might not seem like such a big deal until you think about it… imagine going to a baseball game in a stadium. It’s very difficult to climb stairs in a crowd without going up step-over-step, isn’t it? And in crowds, it’s almost always necessary to have to walk backwards a step or two.

Genium™ handles these situations like it was designed to do just that… because it is. No other knee can do this, but the Genium’s multiple microprocessors, force sensors, and gyroscope work together to handle the most challenging of situations for an amputee.

Genium™ means More Comfort

Because the Genium’s™ auto-adaptive qualities reduce the forces that are transmitted from the ground to the prosthetic socket, this translates to more comfort for the amputee. Our Genium™-equipped patients have reported much greater comfort levels with their prosthesis. The Genium™ knee’s highly developed ‘stance flexion’ feature allow the knee to absorb much of the shock of stepping down onto the prosthesis. In addition, because the Genium™ knows where it is in space and when it needs to increase or decrease the knee’s resistance, the amputee needs to use less force to swing the prosthesis through.

4 guys, 5 legs, 3 Geniums™

Dan and Massimo pose for photos with Sal and Abe. The ‘Natural Standing’ feature of the Genium™ makes it possible for Massimo and Dan to stand still for long periods without fear of the knee releasing.

‘Natural Standing’ Technology

Massimo, like most amputees, is forced to stand for extended periods on an almost daily basis. While limited flexion (mechanical, non-computerized knees) and unlimited flexion systems (the C-Leg®) already offer advantages for the user in many situations, the Genium™ is able to differentiate between dynamic and static needs. Genium™ recognizes when flexion is required and when to support weight while at rest. This permits a natural distribution of the amputee’s standing body weight, whether completing activities while standing or simply pausing – even on inclines or uneven surfaces.

How does Genium’s™ Natural Standing feature help make amputees safer? Massimo will be able to stand comfortably for longer periods of time with the Genium™ prosthetic knee. While his present C-Leg™-equipped prosthesis can stand better than mechanical prostheses, it is unable to fully close the hydraulic valves; therefore the knee is always slowly yielding and bending. The Genium™ knee is able to completely close the hydraulic valves during standing and it intuitively knows when to do this based on sensory input from the angulometers, force sensors, and gyroscope within the knee.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get A Little Wet
The Genium™ knee is water resistant! Finally, our microprocessor knee users no longer have to be afraid of a sudden rainstorm or a splash from a lawn sprinkler.
The Genium was developed alongside its military cousin, the X-2 prosthetic knee. One of the first improvements to the C-Leg™ the military asked for was water resistance. The result is that civilian amputees also benefit from this technological advancement!

Standing Tall
Massimo tries his bilateral Genium™-equipped prostheses for the first time.

Step-Over-Step Stair Climbing
The Genium™ is the only prosthetic knee designed to permit the user to climb stairs step-over-step.
Step-over-step stair climbing has been unavailable to even the fittest, strongest above-knee amputees until now. Dan shows here that step-over-step stair climbing is now within reach of many more amputees, especially those who have already used a C-Leg™ or Mauch SNS™-equipped prosthesis.

Another view of Massimo’s Genium™ computerized prosthetic knees.

Dan ascending stairs step-over-step on his Genium™microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee and Triton™ foot.