A Device for Characterizing Skin Physiological Response to Mechanical Loading in Transtibial Prosthesis Users.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Dermatology
• Prosthetics

Background:

• The skin's response to repetitive stress in prosthesis users is poorly understood.
• This knowledge gap hinders the development of diagnostic tools for skin adaptation to prosthetic sockets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a system for controlled mechanical skin stressing.
• To implement infrared (IR) imaging and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to assess physiological responses.

Main Methods:

• A physical system was created to apply controlled mechanical stress to the skin.
• Infrared imaging was used to measure skin temperature changes.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to measure blood vessel diameter changes.

Main Results:

• The system successfully applied a consistent force profile during testing.
• Both IR and OCT imaging detected peak changes in skin temperature and vessel area after load removal.
• A characteristic temperature rise followed by a decrease towards baseline was observed.

Conclusions:

• The developed system reliably captures skin's physiological responses to mechanical loading.
• This technology shows promise for understanding skin adaptation in prosthesis users.
• Improved understanding can inform better prosthetic socket design and treatment strategies.