Assistive Technology Sensor Platform

Current prosthetic technologies allow amputees to return to a form of normal life, but create new risks, such as improper socket fit, which can lead to a heightened risk for tissue damage that could result in infection and hospitalization. These risks could be minimized by using a sensor system to monitor an amputee"s socket fit and limb health. KCF will evaluate and demonstrate a socket monitoring sensor system using an array of thin EAP-based sensors to measure pressures and temperatures at the surface of the skin and additional miniature sensors to track other aspects of limb health. These sensors are thin enough to comfortably take measurements at the skin surface without the need for cushioning of a socket liner or sleeve, making such a solution usable by an amputee with any socket/liner/sleeve build. The data collected by these sensors will be wirelessly transmitted to a cloud database with KCF"s existing low-power wireless monitoring technology, making it available to the amputees using the system and their clinicians via a mobile device.