The effect of liner design and materials selection on prosthesis interface heat dissipation

Thermal discomfort often affects prosthesis wearers and could be addressed by increasing liner thermal conductivity. This note explores a liner made from thermally conductive silicone and two additional alternative liner designs.

Thermally conductive silicone was used to create a conductive liner and a hybrid liner. Additionally, one with open elements was made. These were compared with a plain silicone liner and a no liner scenario. Scaled down liner prototypes were used due to the high-cost of the thermally conductive silicone. Temperature decay profiles were collected by attaching thermistors to a heated liner phantom and used to evaluate scenarios.

No scenario performed much better than the plain silicone liner. Implementation of passive solutions may be easier, but alternative liner materials are unlikely to affect dissipation enough to address thermal discomfort. Based on this work, future research efforts may be better spent developing active thermal discomfort solutions. Clinical relevance Thermal discomfort can increase the probability of skin damage, reduce prosthesis satisfaction and, ultimately, the quality of life. The prosthesis-wearing experience could be improved if thermal discomfort can be addressed by technological improvements.