Persons with transfemoral and transtibial protheses experience changes in the volume of their residual limb during the course of the day. These changes in volume unavoidably lead to changes in quality of fit of the prosthesis, skin irritations, and soft tissue injuries. The associated pain and discomfort can become debilitating by reducing one’s ability to perform daily activities. While significant advancements have been made in prostheses, the undesirable pain and discomfort that occurs due to the volume change is still a major challenge that needs to be solved. The goal of this program is to develop smart prosthetic sockets that can accommodate for volume fluctuations in the residual limb. In this research, fluidic flexible matrix composite wafers (f2mc) are integrated into the prosthetic socket for volume regulation. The f2mc’s are flexible tubular elements embedded in a flexible matrix. These tubular elements are connected to a reservoir, and contain an internal fluid such as air or water. Fluid flow between the tubes and reservoir is controlled by valves. The f2mc’s can achieve more than 300% increase in volume and potentially several orders of magnitude of change in stiffness. Experimental results for a prosthetic socket demonstrate that the flexible matrix composite wafers can achieve changes in volume when pressurized.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.