Innovative Suspension System Offers Comfort and Control

The Keep It Simple Suspension (KISS™) system provides ease of donning, motion control for transfemoral amputees.

March 15, 2005

The introductory KISS kit comes with an instructional video, a distal locking base and all the components necessary for using two covered locking liners.

A new system has recently been developed that enhances the suspension of a residual limb within a liner, decreasing or even eliminating pistoning and rotation within the prostheses. The Keep It Simple Suspension (KISS™) system, used primary for transfemoral amputees, incorporates a distal hold in the liner and a proximal attachment. As the wearer dons the prosthesis, he or she can pull both the distal and proximal portion of their limb into the socket via a pulley-action system.

“What the KISS system does is enhance the linkage between the residual limb and the prosthesis,” said Lee Mantelmacher, CPO, inventor of the KISS system.

Unique Components

Direct lamination (4 hole) KISS kits and retro-fit KISS kits for converting shuttle locks to the KISS system are also available.

The KISS system combines a hook-and-loop lanyard with a proximal ring suspensor. This allows the patient to roll the liner on while sitting, feeding the lanyard through a centering locking base within the bottom of the socket, working it back up on the outside of the socket to a proximal tab that is glued onto the liner proximally. Because there is a proximal exit of the proximal attachment through the socket itself, the liner is locked in place.

“This is what makes the system unique,” said Mantelmacher.

The clever design of the KISS system not only minimizes distal distraction that occurs with most shuttle lock systems, it also minimizes and virtually eliminates rotation, which is a constant problem with shuttle lock systems unless there is an aggressively shaped socket, said Mantelmacher.

“Even with an aggressive socket design, volume loss can occur, causing rotation within the socket.”

Ease of Donning

One advantage of the KISS system over other transfemoral suspension systems is the ease of donning. For example, if the liner is rolled on in an oblique manner with some other shuttle lock systems, the pin is not directly in line with the locking system, Mantelmacher explained. Many people with amputations get frustrated trying to engage the pin into the locking system.

The KISS can be applied to a new amputee, as well as a person with a mature residual limb. It can be used with any locking liner.

Features

The KISS system’s features include:

With the KISS system the proximal and distal residual limb and covered roll on locking liner are simultaneously seated into the socket via a pulley action. The KISS virtually eliminates pistoning and rotation, even with volume loss.

• Elimination of the pin and the multitude of problems associated with the pin
• Easy to fabricate and don without fabrication dummies
• Compared with other proximal locks, the KISS maintains suspension without inversion of the liner with volume loss
• Low profile because KISS suspends both distally and proximally through a pulley-action system
• Infinite adjustability without the use of a ratchet
• No moving or mechanical components to break down; the limb will never stick in the prosthesis
• Fully submersible and will work under water
• Easily accommodates any contracture without compromised suspension.

According to the KISS Web site, the system features increased proprioception due to enhanced linkage. Patients will experience additional control of his or her prosthesis and increased tracking at the hip through the entire gait cycle. The average patient can secure their prosthesis in less than 20 seconds using KISS.

Since 2002, more than 150 patients in the United States have been fitted with the KISS system.

“In our clinic, practitioners are able to use any system they feel is appropriate for their patients,” Mantelmacher told O&P Business News. “They wind up using the KISS system about 95% of the time because it is easier for the patients to use, especially the elderly patients.”

Moreover, the system takes less skill on the part of the practitioner to achieve good results, he added.

For more information:

• www.kiss-suspension.com