Beyond the limits: technology meets sport to tell a great challenge
Andrea Lanfri, a bilateral transtibial amputee athlete, took on the Valmalenco Ultradistance Trail with a system of sensors developed by DMEC
In collaboration with DEIB, DMEC was involved in a data acquisition campaign during athlete Andrea Lanfri's participation in Valmalenco Ultra Distance Trail, a 35 km trail running race with over 2,000 meters of positive elevation gain. Andrea is an athlete who has combined sports training with the ability to face extreme challenges, despite a double transtibial amputation. After a career with the Paralympic athletics national team, he dedicated himself to high-intensity outdoor activities, including mountaineering, long-distance cycling, and high-altitude running. His most notable feats include climbing Mount Everest, several solo alpine crossings, and the world record for the fastest mile run at high altitude with prostheses.
The E4Sport Interdepartmental Laboratory team created a data collection system using IMUs to track kinematics throughout the entire competition. The inertial sensors were placed on both the residual limbs and the prostheses to collect data on human-prosthesis interaction under real and especially challenging operational conditions.
The project is part of ongoing activities at DMEC on prosthetic devices, within a line of research funded by INAIL, the ultimate goal of which is the sensorization of adaptive prostheses, prosthetic sockets, and prosthetic liners with inertial and optical fiber sensors.
The collected data will serve both a demonstrative purpose and be used to assess the mechanical stresses that prostheses endure during extreme use on uneven terrain. The goal is to develop a database for future analysis, supporting the creation of customized and optimized prosthetic solutions for outdoor activities.
The involvement of DMEC was not limited to the day of the competition: on Thursday, 24 July, during the opening events of Valmalenco UltraDistance Trail, the research team participated in an outreach evening dedicated to the topic of sport, disability, and technology. The meeting was an opportunity to present Andrea's achievements and the research activities conducted by Politecnico in the field of biomechanics and prosthetic technologies to the public.
