Summary Draft #1 + Thesis

The Fillauer product and Supplier Partner product webpage presents the AllPro with Direct Mount Pyramid prosthetic foot’s various features and functions, highlighting each of them and how they play a unique part.

The AllPro's functionality is designed with active users in mind, offering great versatility and dynamic performance. It allows amputees to partake in a variety of activities, including jogging, walking, and sports like basketball and tennis. (Low Extremity Review Article “Fillauer AllPro Foot”, September 2017).

The prosthetic features a carbon composite architecture of the foot that provides smooth plantar and dorsiflexion, absorbing and returning energy efficiently to accommodate high-impact exercises as well as daily wear (Fillauer, n.d.). Among the features is the AllPro's rocker toe, which facilitates effortless rollover and results in more fluid, low-effort movements. The exact alignment adjustments provided by the RPI pyramid adapter allow for a more customized fit through optimizing alignments and performances for adult transtibial (TT) and transfemoral (TF) amputees and the multiaxial function capability improves the user’s stability on rough terrain. Furthermore, the prosthetic's lightweight design (15.9 oz) ensures strength and longevity by supporting up to 330lbs or 149kgs (SPS, n.d.).

According to the Supplier Partner webpage, AllPro is categorized under K3 and K4 in the K-level system, which is a rating system used to reflect a patient's potential for rehabilitation. The method, which ranges from 0 to 4, rates a person's likelihood of using a prosthetic device if they have one that suits them well and have undergone the necessary rehabilitation to use it correctly. (Amputee Coalition “Do you know your K-level?”, 5th September 2013, Vol 23 para.3).

AllPro typically ranges in price between $3,000 to $5,000 (SPS, n.d.), depending on the provider, the specific configurations for the user’s needs and comfortability, and the user’s K-level. The typical price of purchase for a prosthetic foot can range from $211.00 to $7929.00 according to an article from Rinella Prosthetics and Orthotics, this is because each patient is different and requires a different prosthetic foot that best suits their needs. (Rinella Prosthetics and Orthotics, n.d.).

For example, the patient may be classified as a K1 ambulator if limited to walking at a set pace on level surfaces. The patient may be a K2 walker if they can climb and descend stairs and walk up and down curbs. He may be a K3 ambulator if he can walk farther and change his pace for that distance. Finally, he might be moving up to the K4 level if athletic. The K-level prosthetics price range is K1: $211.00, K2: $394.00-$1166.00, K3: $2480.00 to $7929.00, K4: $3318.00-$7929.00. (Rinella Prosthetics and Orthotics, n.d.).

Simpler prosthetic leg models typically cost $5,000, but more intricate models can approach up to $70,000. Many insurance plans will pay for the prosthetic leg and additional treatments in full or in part, despite their high cost (Lawall Prosthetics and Orthotics, n.d.).

The prices of prosthetics, in general, are high but also necessary as they not only cover the hardware, due to the uniqueness of each patient and the prosthetic foot that best meets their needs, but also several years' worth of the clinician's limb-care expertise (Larry, 29th February 2024), justifying the high pricing of the Fillauer’s AllPro with Direct Mount Pyramid.

To prove why the Fillauer’s AllPro with Direct Mount Pyramid may be one of the most preferred prosthetics in the market, a comparison is done with another prosthetic brand, Ottobock, that also prioritizes developing new features for products to meet end-user needs (Akhil, 9th November 2022).

It is assumed that many K3 or K4 users would prefer, in terms of affordability and functionality, to choose the Fillauer’s AllPro with Direct Mount Pyramid as the price of the Ottobock’s 1E91 ranges between $4,000 and $6,000 together with a 24-months warranty period (Ottobock, n.d.), while the Fillauer’s AllPro with Direct Mount Pyramid price ranges between $3,000 to $5,000 together with a 36-months warranty period (SPS, n.d.).

However, (write in how users may prefer ottobock because of the features which enabled the specialised running function, compared to fillauer feature which is more general)