Wernke Matthew M, Schroeder Ryan M, Haynes Michael L, Nolt Lonnie L, Albury Alexander W, Colvin James M
The Ohio Willow Wood Company, Mt. Sterling, Ohio.
Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2017 Jul 1;6(7):233-239. doi: 10.1089/wound.2016.0719.
Prosthetic sockets are custom made for each amputee, yet there are no quantitative tools to determine the appropriateness of socket fit. Ensuring a proper socket fit can have significant effects on the health of residual limb soft tissues and overall function and acceptance of the prosthetic limb. Previous work found that elevated vacuum pressure data can detect movement between the residual limb and the prosthetic socket; however, the correlation between the two was specific to each user. The overall objective of this work is to determine the relationship between elevated vacuum pressure deviations and prosthetic socket fit. A tension compression machine was used to apply repeated controlled forces onto a residual limb model with sockets of different internal volume. The vacuum pressure-displacement relationship was dependent on socket fit. The vacuum pressure data were sensitive enough to detect differences of 1.5% global volume and can likely detect differences even smaller. Limb motion was reduced as surface area of contact between the limb model and socket was maximized. The results suggest that elevated vacuum pressure data provide information to quantify socket fit. This study provides evidence that the use of elevated vacuum pressure data may provide a method for prosthetists to quantify and monitor socket fit. Future studies should investigate the relationship between socket fit, limb motion, and limb health to define optimal socket fit parameters.
假肢接受腔是为每位截肢者定制的，但目前尚无定量工具来确定接受腔适配的适宜性。确保接受腔的合适适配会对残肢软组织的健康以及假肢的整体功能和接受度产生重大影响。先前的研究发现，升高的真空压力数据能够检测残肢与假肢接受腔之间的移动；然而，二者之间的相关性因使用者而异。这项工作的总体目标是确定升高的真空压力偏差与假肢接受腔适配之间的关系。使用一台拉伸压缩机对带有不同内部容积接受腔的残肢模型施加反复的可控力。真空压力-位移关系取决于接受腔的适配情况。真空压力数据足够灵敏，能够检测出1.5%总体积的差异，甚至可能检测出更小的差异。随着肢体模型与接受腔之间的接触面积最大化，肢体运动减少。结果表明，升高的真空压力数据能够提供量化接受腔适配情况的信息。本研究提供了证据，证明使用升高的真空压力数据可能为假肢矫形师提供一种量化和监测接受腔适配情况的方法。未来的研究应调查接受腔适配、肢体运动和肢体健康之间的关系，以确定最佳的接受腔适配参数。
