Jianliang Gao

Development of a residuum/socket interface simulator for lower limb prosthetics:

Mechanical coupling at the interface between lower limb residua and prosthetic sockets plays an important role in assessing socket fitting and tissue health. However, most research lab–based lower limb prosthetic simulators to-date have implemented a rigid socket coupling. This study describes the fabrication and implementation of a lower limb residuum/socket interface simulator, designed to reproduce the forces and moments present during the key loading phases of amputee walking. An artificial residuum made with model bones encased in silicone was used, mimicking the compliant mechanical loading of a real residuum/socket interface. A 6-degree-of-freedom load cell measured the overall kinetics, having previously been incorporated into an amputee’s prosthesis to collect reference data. The developed simulator was compared to a setup where a rigid pylon replaced the artificial residuum. A maximum uniaxial load of 850 N was applied, comparable to the peak vertical ground reaction force component during amputee walking. Load cell outputs from both pylon and residuum setups were compared. During weight acceptance, when including the artificial residuum, compression decreased by 10%, while during push off, sagittal bending and anterior–posterior shear showed a 25% increase and 34% decrease, respectively. Such notable difference by including a compliant residuum further highlighted the need for such an interface simulator. Subsequently, the simulator was adjusted to produce key load cell outputs briefly aligning with those from amputee walking. Force sensing resistors were deployed at load bearing anatomic locations on the residuum/socket interface to measure pressures and were compared to those cited in the literature for similar locations. The development of such a novel simulator provides an objective adjunct, using commonly available mechanical test machines. It could potentially be used to provide further insight into socket design, fit and the complex load transfer mechanics at the residuum/socket interface, as well as to evaluate the structural performance of prostheses.

Dataset for Development of a residuum/socket interface simulator for lower limb prosthetics

Dataset supporting: Mcgrath, Michael et al. (2016) Development of a residuum/socket interface simulator for lower limb prosthetics. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine.Embargoed until 2020 for commercial reasons.

Dataset for An Interfacial Pressure and Shear Sensor System for Fingertip Contact Applications

Dataset supporting: Valero, Maria et al (2016) An interfacial pressure and shear sensor system for fingertip contact applications. Healthcare Technology Letters.

A lower-limb stump/socket interface simulator to aid assessment of clinical interventions

This is the dataset linked to: Tang, Jing et al (2015) Use of gait lab 3D motion capture for dynamic assessment of amputee socket interface biomechanics – a preliminary study. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 39, (1), supplement 2-608, 257. doi:10.1177/0309364615591101).Background: Sierra Leone is a low income country in West Africa that has a history of conflict. Sierra Leone have signed and ratified the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Aim: To evaluate persons with disability that use prosthetic and orthotic assistive devices access to human rights. The addressed areas were; right to health, right to a standard of living adequate for health, right to vote, right to marry and found a family, right to education, right to work and. A further aim was to compare groups of participants regarding gender, area of residence, income and type and level of device. Methods: Questionnaires were used to collect self-reported data from 139 prosthetic and orthotic users in Sierra Leone. Results: About half of the patient considered their overall physical health as good or very good. Thirty-seven percent of the participants said their mental health is bad or very bad. The majority said they did not have access to medical care and the most common reason given was that they could not afford doctors fee. The orthotic users reported they required medical care outside home more often than the prosthetic users. About half of the participants could not access afford medication when they needed it. About half of the participants had regularly access to safe drinking water and only 10% had the possibility to eat three times a day. The majority had a reasonably or adequate house to live. Half of the participants were married and 70% had children. Almost all reported that they could vote if they wanted. About half were working but often self-employed with small business. Sixty percent could read and write. Discussion & Conclusion: There was still a need for significant progress in increased access to medical care and medication when needed for persons with lower limb physical disability in Sierra Leone. Increased access to food and clean water to facilitate an acceptable standard of living adequate for health were also necessary in order to strive towards implementing the rights to health for persons with disability.Elevated skin temperature at the body/device interface of lower-limb prostheses is one of the major factors that affect tissue health [1]. The heat dissipation in prosthetic sockets is greatly influenced by the thermal conductive properties of the hard socket and liner material employed. This leads to a hypothesis that if the thermal properties of the socket & liner materials are known then the in-socket skin temperature could be accurately predicted by measuring between the socket and interface liner, rather than at the more technically challenging skin interface.Book 7th Annual International Conference on Business, Law & Economics 4-7 May 2020, Athens, Greece Edited by Gregory T. Papanikos THE ATHENS INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Assessment of alignment effects on stump/socket interface and socket reaction moment using a lower-limb prosthetic simulator

This is the dataset linked to: Tang, Jing et al (2015) Use of gait lab 3D motion capture for dynamic assessment of amputee socket interface biomechanics – a preliminary study. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 39, (1), supplement 2-608, 257. doi:10.1177/0309364615591101).Background: Sierra Leone is a low income country in West Africa that has a history of conflict. Sierra Leone have signed and ratified the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Aim: To evaluate persons with disability that use prosthetic and orthotic assistive devices access to human rights. The addressed areas were; right to health, right to a standard of living adequate for health, right to vote, right to marry and found a family, right to education, right to work and. A further aim was to compare groups of participants regarding gender, area of residence, income and type and level of device. Methods: Questionnaires were used to collect self-reported data from 139 prosthetic and orthotic users in Sierra Leone. Results: About half of the patient considered their overall physical health as good or very good. Thirty-seven percent of the participants said their mental health is bad or very bad. The majority said they did not have access to medical care and the most common reason given was that they could not afford doctors fee. The orthotic users reported they required medical care outside home more often than the prosthetic users. About half of the participants could not access afford medication when they needed it. About half of the participants had regularly access to safe drinking water and only 10% had the possibility to eat three times a day. The majority had a reasonably or adequate house to live. Half of the participants were married and 70% had children. Almost all reported that they could vote if they wanted. About half were working but often self-employed with small business. Sixty percent could read and write. Discussion & Conclusion: There was still a need for significant progress in increased access to medical care and medication when needed for persons with lower limb physical disability in Sierra Leone. Increased access to food and clean water to facilitate an acceptable standard of living adequate for health were also necessary in order to strive towards implementing the rights to health for persons with disability.Elevated skin temperature at the body/device interface of lower-limb prostheses is one of the major factors that affect tissue health [1]. The heat dissipation in prosthetic sockets is greatly influenced by the thermal conductive properties of the hard socket and liner material employed. This leads to a hypothesis that if the thermal properties of the socket & liner materials are known then the in-socket skin temperature could be accurately predicted by measuring between the socket and interface liner, rather than at the more technically challenging skin interface.Book 7th Annual International Conference on Business, Law & Economics 4-7 May 2020, Athens, Greece Edited by Gregory T. Papanikos THE ATHENS INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH