A Step in the Right Direction

by Lauren Michael

Submitted : Spring 2018

The purpose of this project is to determine if there is a correlation between the velocity from a two minute walk test and the k level for prosthetic patients. In order to do this, a correlation coefficient formula will be used. The velocity from the two minute walk test will be the X factor in the formula and the K level will be the Y factor in the formula. The correlation coefficient will be represented by R. Ultimately, to find R, one would take the sum of all the X values and subtract the mean of the X value from it then multiply that by the mean of the Y values subtracted by the sum of all the Y values. Then take that number and divide it by the standard deviation of X multiplied by the standard deviation of Y in order to find R. Once R is found from the original patient data that was gathered, a correlation can be determined. If a strong one is not present, the original data can be adjusted in order to create a strong correlation and then parameters can be created based on that data.

Based on the results, a strong correlation was able to be found between the two factors and velocity ranges were established for each K level. This study is crucial to medical departments, particularly to prosthetics, due to the fact that the K level determines the amount of medicare or insurance funding that can be established towards a prosthetic for a patient. The better the fundings, the better the prosthetic which is determined based upon the wellbeing of the patient. Therefore, if the patient covers a greater distance in a two minute period, they are considered to be more able than other patients walking less distances and therefore need a better prosthetic and funds.

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