Quick fitting of prosthetic sockets for above knee amputees

Amputees will have to wear a prosthetic limb for the rest of their life, the comfort is crucial for them to regain a good quality of life. Attaching artificial limbs to the body remains clinically challenging and the conventional way to attach a prosthetic limb to the body is by means of a socket. Socket related problems mainly emanate from the over-reliance on a skilled prosthetist to determine the load bearing capability across the stump using a “touch and feel” technique without quantitative measurements. This project aims to change the subjective approach into a science-based technique so that a good-fit socket can be designed and fabricated within one day. Advanced QTSS sensor will be adapted to measure the dynamic pressure distribution between mock-up residual limbs and the socket during simulated gait tests. The data, together with biomechanics analytical models to be developed during the project, will be used to optimise the socket design. Finally a new procedure will be formulated at the end of the project. Once the project is successfully completed through laboratory validation tests, we will start clinical trials to demonstrate the new technique/procedure to the rehabilitation healthcare sector so that prosthetists will have confidence to adopt this solution in their routine practices.