Distributed Sensing for Prosthetic Sockets

截肢者残肢的形状和表面状况在整个过程中都会发生变化。 天。因此，传统的静止式假体在使用时间较短后会造成不适。 这一研究方向的长期目标是创造一种新的假体和 矫形器接口。这些设备将在管理的同时动态地符合人体 界面处的环境变量，包括压力分布、剪应力、 湿度、温度、污染程度和皮肤状况。这些设备将允许 更长时间的舒适磨损，不会形成摩擦水泡和其他形式的 皮肤和组织受损。 拟议项目的目标是开发基于 并建立了具有分布式传感能力的假肢衬垫的原型。 柔性阵列背后的中心思想是使用单峰场传感，在这种情况下，是电动的 场，用于通过选择性表面功能化测量感兴趣的属性。这 与多原理传感器融合方法相比，该方法具有优势，因为它允许 降低了传感器阵列电子接口的复杂性。降低复杂性 传感器单元级别的电子设备对于实现超薄、紧凑、高性能的目标至关重要。 分辨率，以及可在假肢上测量多个变量的灵活传感器阵列 衬里/残肢界面。 具体目标包括a)用于测量的柔性传感阵列的设计 湿度、温度、压力和剪切力；b)将该阵列集成到假体中 衬垫/插座；以及c)设备性能测试。这些目标将通过切割来实现- 材料科学和微处理器控制的前沿发展。薄膜有机材料 电子学将与弹性导体、金属电极阵列和 与中央微控制器进行多路传输，以实现对温度的实时测量 温度、水分浓度、压力和剪应力。的最终目标是 传感器的原型是实现对感兴趣的所有变量进行充分的测量 准确度、分辨率和重复性。该项目将为未来的两项研究奠定基础 方向：a)设计更好的假肢装置，b)基础研究 发生在尾管-肢体交界处。由于军事冲突和老龄化，截肢手术越来越频繁 糖尿病人群。该项目将帮助研究人员制造智能假肢和假肢， 可以长时间佩戴而不会引起不适。这样的装置将极大地改善 截肢者的生活质量。

The shape and surface conditions of the residual limbs of amputees change throughout the day. Therefore, traditional static prosthetic devices cause discomfort after relatively short use. The long-term objective of this research direction is to create a new class of prosthetic and orthotic interfaces. These devices will dynamically conform to the human body while managing the environment variables at the interface, including pressure distribution, shear stress, moisture, temperature, degree of contamination, and skin condition. These devices will allow much longer periods of comfortable wear without formation of friction blisters and other forms of skin and tissue damage. The goal of the proposed project is to develop enabling sensing technology based on a flexible array and to build a prototype of a prosthetic liner with distributed sensing capability. The central idea behind the flexible array is to use unimodal field sensing, in this case, electric field, for measurement of properties of interest through selective surface functionalization. This approach offers advantages over multi-principle sensor fusion approaches because it allows reduction of complexity of electronic interface of the sensor array. Reduced complexity of electronics at the sensor cell level is critical for achieving the goal of thin, compact, high- resolution, and flexible sensor arrays that can measure multiple variables at the prosthetic liner/residual limb interface. The specific aims include a) the design of the flexible sensing array for measurement of moisture, temperature, pressure, and shear stress; b) integration of this array into a prosthetic liner/socket; and c) testing of device performance. These aims will be realized using cutting- edge developments in materials science and microprocessor control. Thin-film organic electronics will be combined with elastomeric conductors, metal electrode arrays, and multiplexed with a central microcontroller in order to achieve real-time measurement of temperature, moisture concentration, pressure, and shear stress. The final objective for the sensor prototype is to achieve measurement of all variables of interest with a sufficient accuracy, resolution, and repeatability. The project will set the stage for two future research directions: a) design of better prosthetic devices, and b) fundamental study of processes that take place at the liner-limb interface. Limb amputations are increasingly frequent, due to military conflicts as well as the aging diabetic population. This project will help researchers build smart artificial arms and legs that can be worn for a long time without causing discomfort. Such devices will greatly improve the quality of life of amputees.