R21: An Easy-to-use, iNtelligent, Affordable LinEr (ENABLE) System for Socket Fit Assessment

A novel pressure sensing pad will be tested in the project. The purpose of these tests is to collect the safety and efficacy of the sensing pad. The research team would like to seek a Non-significant Risk claim from Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The pad will be made of materials similar to the normal liner with embedded nanotubes. The nanotubes are filled with gallium alloys, of which resistance will change based on loaded pressure. When constant current passes these tubes, the change of pressure leads to a change in temperatures around, which will excite thermal-sensitive dyes to change color. So the research team could estimate the pressure at a given area based on the color around it.

The experimental procedure includes three sets and requires 3-4 visits from each subject.

Set I procedure includes a standard socket construction, which requires 2-3 visits for the subjects to the office of a local prosthetic company. Then, a certified prosthetist will build a test socket and a customized liner to maximize the socket fit and comfort and conduct the needed alignment of the prosthetic leg. Unless it is necessary, all testing sockets will be duplications of amputees' everyday sockets.

Set II will test the accuracy of the constructed prototype on amputee subjects compared to a commercially available sensor pad, which serves as a reference. First, the research team will mount both sensing systems on the subjects. The reference sensor grid will be mounted on the residual limb directly using medical tape. After the subject dons the ENABLE sensing pad, the research team will register two sensing systems. In the end, the subjects are required to don the testing socket and walk continuously, so the measurement of the developed prototype could be stabilized. Pictures of the ENABLE will be taken and compared with the recorded pressure signals from the reference grid.