# Codebook: FDA reports on canes and crutches, read for the device, the part that failed and how

Written before any report in the set was coded. Mobility Atlas study, October 2026.

## Pool
FDA MAUDE device reports read in openFDA on 17 October 2026 (data last updated 7 October 2026), every report received at any date that carries text and is filed under product code IPS ("Cane", 21 CFR 890.3075), KHY ("Cane, Safety Walk", 21 CFR 890.3075) or IPR ("Crutch", 21 CFR 890.3150), plus every report with text filed under INP ("Tips And Pads, Cane, Crutch And Walker", 21 CFR 890.3790) whose text contains the word cane or crutch. INP reports that name only a walker or no device are left out (walkers are covered by the Mobility Atlas walker study).

The study asks: which device (what kind of cane or crutch), which part failed first, how it failed, whether the user fell or was hurt, whether the problem was there on arrival, and what the maker found.

## What you record for each report
One line per report: `report_key,device,part,mode,injury,fall,arrival,finding,note`

### DEVICE (one letter): what the report is about. Use the text first, then the brand or product name in the header line.
- S: SINGLE-POINT CANE: a standard walking cane or walking stick with one tip (straight, offset, adjustable, wooden, aluminium, derby or T handle) that does not fold. "Cane" with no other detail is S.
- F: FOLDING CANE: a cane that folds or collapses into sections by design (elastic cord inside).
- Q: QUAD OR MULTI-POINT CANE: a quad cane, four-point or three-point cane, hemi-walker or any cane with a base and several feet; also a "safety walk" cane.
- T: SEAT CANE OR OTHER SPECIAL CANE: a cane with a seat, a cane that stands on its own because of a special tip, or another unusual cane.
- A: AXILLARY (UNDERARM) CRUTCH: a crutch with an underarm pad, including "standard", "aluminium" or "wooden" crutches with no other detail.
- L: FOREARM CRUTCH: a forearm, elbow, Lofstrand or Canadian crutch with a cuff.
- K: CRUTCH, KIND NOT STATED, when the text gives no clue between A and L.
- O: another device (a walker, a wheelchair, a tip used on a walker, a knee walker): the event is not about a cane or a crutch.
- N: no event is described (blank, administrative).

### PART (one letter): the part the report says failed FIRST. If several parts are named with no order, take the one that comes first in this list. Code what the report alleges, even if the maker later found no fault.
- T: TIP OR FERRULE: the rubber tip, ferrule, foot, glide or ice tip (worn through, split, came off, slipped).
- B: BASE OR FEET: the base plate, quad base, feet, legs of a quad cane or the welds of the base.
- J: HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT: the push button, spring button, pin, clip, locking collar or adjustment holes that set the height (button did not lock, popped out, shaft telescoped down, holes wore or cracked there).
- S: SHAFT OR TUBE: the shaft, tube, leg or upright of a cane or crutch, including a fold joint or the elastic cord of a folding cane (broke, bent, cracked, separated).
- H: HANDLE OR HAND GRIP: the handle or the hand grip, its foam or rubber cover, and the bolt or bracket that holds the hand grip of a crutch (broke, loose, rotated, slid, came off).
- P: UNDERARM PAD OR TOP: the underarm pad, the top piece or crossbar of an axillary crutch.
- C: FOREARM CUFF: the cuff of a forearm crutch or its hinge.
- W: HARDWARE: a screw, bolt, nut, wing nut, rivet or pin that the report does not tie to one of the parts above.
- Y: another named part (a wrist strap, a seat of a seat cane, a light, a holder).
- Q: a device problem is alleged but no part is named or you cannot tell which.
- X: an event is described but nothing failed (a fall while using a cane or crutch that worked, a medical event, misuse with no failure).
- N: no event (use with DEVICE N or O).

### MODE (one letter): how the part failed, as the report states it
- K: broke, cracked, snapped, fractured, split.
- D: bent, buckled, collapsed, gave way, folded under load, telescoped down.
- L: loose, wobbly, came off, came apart, fell out, detached, rotated.
- W: worn, worn through, torn.
- S: slipped or skidded on the floor with no break (a tip that did not grip).
- O: other, or not stated. Use O for PART X, Q and N.

### FLAGS (y or n)
- injury: the report states harm to the body or medical care (bruise, cut, sprain, fracture, stitches, surgery, hospital, death). Pain alone counts as y. y when the event type is Death.
- fall: the user fell, nearly fell and hit something, or went down to the ground.
- arrival: the problem was found new, out of the box, at first use or on delivery (missing parts, broken in the package, wrong part).

### FINDING (one letter): what the maker found, as the report states it
- D: a fault was found or confirmed, or a part was replaced because it was faulty.
- N: no fault found, worked as designed, or the cause was outside the device (misuse, wear, user error, wrong height setting by the user).
- X: not evaluated, not returned, or nothing stated.

### note
At most 15 words: the device, the part, what made the choice hard. No quotes longer than 6 words. No personal details.

## Output format
CSV with header `report_key,device,part,mode,injury,fall,arrival,finding,note`, one row per report in your chunk, nothing else. Every report gets exactly one row.