[New technologies in the prosthetic management after amputations]

In Germany around 70,000 amputations are carried out on extremities each year. Modern prosthetic functional components have become more and more sophisticated and must be understood and applied by their users to be of beneficial use in everyday life. The prosthetic socket is the most important component of modern extremity prosthetics.

Which demands have to be met by a modern prosthetic socket so that innovative function-improving components in prosthetics can be successfully applied?

Complex prosthetic technologies are rarely compatible with a lower overall weight of the prosthesis. The increase in functionality also produces differentiated force effects on the human body. Modern socket technologies, therefore, have to compensate for the increased strain and counteract the increasing dynamics between the stump and the prosthesis. This can be achieved through the application of adhesive socket materials and through new adhesive mechanisms. Form variants can also improve the connection between stump and prosthetic socket.

The improvements in prosthetic socket technology presented here have a lasting positive effect on the daily routine of many amputees. Not only do they improve the control and application of modern prosthetic components, but also clearly enhance the wearing comfort.

The prosthetic socket is crucial for the success of exoskeletal prosthetic management. The better we succeed in making the human body and the prosthetic socket an entity, the more usefully and comfortably innovative prosthetic methods can be applied.