Examining the use and weight transfer of four custom-made partial hindlimb exoprostheses for a dog

Muršec, Aljaž (author), Pavlović, Monika (author), Žel, Jurij (author), Erjavec, Vladimira (author)

Background: Limb exoprosthetics in veterinary medicine are less developed than in human medicine. This case study evaluates four custom-made hindlimb exoprostheses for a 6-year-old dog following metatarsal amputation due to a train accident. Methods: After wound healing, four exoprostheses—differing in measurement methods and materials—were tested over 4 weeks, each for 1 week. Assessment tools included force plate measurements, accelerometer-based activity tracking and owner feedback. Force plates evaluated load distribution across the exoprosthetic limb, healthy hindlimb and forelimbs. Results: The second exoprosthesis, made of polypropylene using a double-mould method, had the highest user acceptance and activity levels. The PitPat tracker recorded an average of 41.4 min of walking per day, with 6.97% of bodyweight transferred to the exoprosthesis. The third and fourth exoprostheses caused skin abrasions and were discontinued after 3 days. Conclusion: Well-designed exoprosthetics can improve limb use in dogs with par- tial amputation. Force plates, activity trackers and owner feedback are useful outcome measures for evaluating exoprosthesis performance and enhancing quality of life.

• Language: English
• Keywords: amputation, dogs, force plate, limb exoprosthesis
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences; VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 8 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 2, art. e70039
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-184546
• UDC: 636.7:616-089:612.76:685.382
• ISSN on article: 2052-6113
• DOI: 10.1002/vro2.70039
• COBISS.SI-ID: 284185091
• Publication date in RUL: 10.07.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Veterinary record open
• Shortened title: Vet. rec. open
• Publisher: BMJ
• ISSN: 2052-6113
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523429145

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: amputacija, psi, merilna plošča za merjenje sil, zunanja proteza okončine

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P4-0053-2019
• Name: Endokrini, imunski in encimski odzivi pri zdravih in bolnih živalih