# A Deep Learning Framework With Domain Generalization and Few-Shot Learning for Locomotion Mode Classification Across Users, Sessions, and Prostheses

**Authors:** Eugenio Anselmino, Ann M. Simon, Levi J. Hargrove

PMC · DOI: 10.1109/tmrb.2025.3606364 · IEEE transactions on medical robotics and bionics · 2026-04-01

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a deep learning framework that improves locomotion mode classification across different users, sessions, and prostheses.

## Contribution

The novel framework combines domain generalization and few-shot learning to enhance classification performance on unseen data.

## Key findings

- The framework achieved a median f1-score of 99.12% at heel-strike events for the Gen 2 prosthesis.
- It also reached a median f1-score of 94.36% at toe-off events for the Gen 3 prosthesis.
- The approach outperforms prosthesis-specific classifiers in unseen session and subject data.

## Abstract

Transfemoral amputees don and doff their prostheses at least daily, making inter-session classification performance important for clinical implementation of locomotion mode classification algorithms. Here, we present a deep-learning framework based on domain-adversarial training and few-shot learning fine-tuning to classify locomotion modes in unseen sessions or subjects’ data across different prosthesis models. We validated the approach with a leave-one-session-out analysis repeated five times and made comparisons to a prosthesis-specific classifier. The dataset was created by merging data from two different prosthesis models (Vanderbilt University, VU, Gen 2 and Gen 3 powered knee-ankle prostheses), for a total of 31 sessions acquired across multiple days from 11 subjects. Subjects performed five locomotion tasks: level walking, incline and decline walking, and stair ascent and descent. Since transitions between different locomotion modes happen at different gait events, the analyses have been repeated for both heel-strike (HS) and toe-off (TO) events. At HS events, the proposed approach achieves a median f1-score of 99.12% and 92.41% on VU Gen 2 and Gen 3 prostheses respectively. At TO events, the proposed approach reaches a median f1-score of 96.83% with VU Gen 2 and 94.36% with VU Gen 3. The proposed framework is a promising solution for locomotion classification on data of previously unseen sessions or subjects, allowing classification on multiple prosthesis models.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** LW (MESH:D013009), amputations (MESH:C565682), TO (MESH:D000070592), HS (MESH:D009198)
- **Chemicals:** LW (-)

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

29 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13037883/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13037883