A Novel Measurement Device for Volume Management in Lower Limb Amputees: A Technical Note

Area of Science:

• Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Amputees often experience residual limb irritation and wounds due to inadequate volume management.
• Peripheral neuropathy, cognitive impairment, and socio-cultural factors contribute to difficulties in maintaining proper limb volume.
• Current methods for managing diurnal limb volume loss, such as prosthetic socks, lack reliable usage data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel device for monitoring prosthetic sock usage and amputee activity.
• To assess the feasibility of using wireless RFID and socket-limb interface force detection for data collection.
• To explore clinical applications for improved residual limb management and prosthetic component justification.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a device integrating wireless RFID and socket-limb interface force sensors.
• Pilot data collection through both in-laboratory and out-of-laboratory protocols.
• Analysis of collected interface force and sock usage data.

Main Results:

• The device demonstrated encouraging results in tracking socket-limb interface force data.
• Accurate collection of prosthetic sock usage data proved challenging in the initial pilot study.
• Proposed improvements include enhanced antenna design and an algorithm utilizing interface force data to trigger sock usage tracking.

Conclusions:

• The developed Sock Monitor shows potential for clinical applications, including early intervention for tissue damage prevention and providing evidence for insurance reimbursement.
• Further development with improved hardware and firmware is necessary for accurate real-world data collection.
• Future research will focus on a predictive model to determine if sock usage intervention improves amputee comfort and limb health.