A Low-Cost, Practical Fitness Monitor of Socket-Suspension Systems for Lower Limb Amputees

一款低成本、易于使用的插座悬挂系统适配监测器， 截肢者 对于下肢截肢者来说，使用假肢对于保持活动和独立生活至关重要。接口 在残肢和假肢之间，通常是带有相关悬挂系统（SSS）的假肢接受腔， 只有在SSS适当的情况下才能很好地工作。为了保持适当的SSS拟合， 截肢者和临床医生都是必要的;否则，由于截肢者的波动，SSS拟合恶化。 由长期因素（如体重变化）和短期因素（如 运动过程中的撞击目前，所有的干预措施都是由截肢者的触觉来指导的，这不是一个简单的方法。 SSS配合调节的可靠信息来源。在这种不准确的信息来源的引导下， 干预措施往往不是有效或及时的，SSS拟合的恶化往往被忽视，直到副作用 变得严厉。这些不利的副作用包括集中在残肢上的意外应力， 异常步态模式，增加继发性疾病的风险，如背痛，皮肤擦伤， 痛苦且难以治愈。 该提案的目的是开发一种新的SSS拟合监测器，以根据以下运动学特征跟踪SSS拟合： 活塞运动，描述了残肢和假肢接受腔之间的相对运动。我们将 通过追求三个具体目标来实现我们的学习目标。 目的1：识别活塞运动的相位相关运动学特征，这些特征对SSS拟合的变化敏感， 目标2：设计传感器阵列以跟踪3D空间中的活塞运动;以及 目的3：证明使用开发的 SSS适配监视器。 所有这些努力将有助于我们实现长期目标：帮助截肢者和临床医生提高他们的能力 来管理残肢和假肢之间的接口。

A low-cost, easy-to-use fit monitor of socket-suspension systems for lower limb amputees For lower limb amputees, the use of prosthetic legs is critical to remain active and live independently. Interface between the residual limb and the prosthetic leg, usually a prosthetic socket with related suspension system (SSS), only works well if the SSS is fit appropriately. To maintain an appropriate SSS fit, repeated interventions from both amputees and clinicians are necessary; otherwise, the SSS fit deteriorates due to fluctuation of amputees’ residual limb volume caused by long term factors, such as body weight changes, and short-term factors, such as impact during locomotion. Currently, all interventions are guided by amputees’ haptic sensation, which is not a reliable information source for regulation of the SSS fit. Guided by this inaccurate information source, interventions are often not effectively or timely, and deterioration of the SSS fit is often ignored until side effects become severe. These unfavorable side effects include unexpected stress concentrated on the residual limb, abnormal gait patterns, increased risk of secondary conditions such as back pain, and skin abrasions that are painful and difficult to heal. Objective of the proposal is to develop a novel SSS fit monitor to track the SSS fit based on kinematic features of pistoning, which describes the relative motion between the residual limb and the prosthetic socket. We will accomplish our study objectives by pursuing three specific aims. Aim 1: Identify phase-dependent kinematic features of pistoning, which are sensitive to change of SSS fit, on multiple locations on the residual limb; Aim 2: Design a sensor array to track pistoning motions in 3D space; and Aim 3: demonstrate the capability to monitor SSS fit during walking on amputee subjects using the developed SSS fit monitor. All these efforts will help us to reach our long-term goal: help amputees and clinicians to improve their capability to manage the interface between the residual limb and their prosthetic legs.