Non-Invasive Telemetric Sensing for Lower Leg Amputee Surface Skin Management

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Lower limb amputations not only occur following accidents or war, but now predominantly occur as a complication of diabetes, following ulceration and gangrene. Wearing a prosthesis following amputation facilitates social and economic activity and inclusion, but nearly 75% of leg amputees experience skin complications, which can result in abandoning the prostheses, and may in turn lead to secondary amputation, and even death. With the world-wide increase in diabetes, there is an increasing burden for the individual and for society, but early recognition of skin changes could trigger preventative action. To address this problem, Bioflex Yarns and PST Sensors Europe have joined forces to develop a limb monitoring system to alert for skin complications, to be based on 'cutting-edge' technologies in passive thermal regulation, non-invasive monitoring of physiological parameters, and IoT based data analysis. At the centre of the technology is the smart prosthesis sock, which is as comfortable to wear as a traditional prosthesis sock. An app on the amputee’s mobile phone alerts when problems commence. The individual amputee will have personal information, direct involvement in care, and a transformed daily living experience. Furthermore, with the clinical information directly accessible to the designated medical team, any appropriate intervention can be timely and cost effective. The multi-patient amputee database platform can allow the NHS to allocate resources to provide targeted care to amputees, for reduced health care costs.