Preliminary development and validation of a textile-based pressure-sensing system for lower-limb prosthetic sockets

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Socket fit is crucial for lower-limb prosthesis users, impacting mobility and independence.
• Current subjective fit assessments lack consistency and can lead to adverse outcomes.
• Existing pressure sensors face challenges in clinical practicality and wearability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel prosthetic sock with integrated textile-based pressure-sensing cells.
• To address the limitations of current methods for assessing prosthetic socket fit.

Main Methods:

• Fabricated a surrogate residual limb for interface testing.
• Evaluated individual sensor cell sensitivity, repeatability, and drift.
• Assessed sock performance under static loading and simulated gait conditions.

Main Results:

• Sensor cells demonstrated high sensitivity (detecting 5% load changes) and excellent repeatability (ICC=0.998, CV<2%).
• Tested sock cells showed low variation (<10% CV) under static load.
• The sock successfully detected pressure distribution changes during simulated gait events.

Conclusions:

• The developed prosthetic sock shows promising performance comparable to existing pressure sensors.
• Further development is needed, including form factor optimization and shear-sensing integration.
• Clinical validation with prosthesis users is essential for future implementation.