A research team developed a customizable prosthetic socket that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to manage the user’s residual limb fluctuations by automatically detecting empty space in the socket and filling it with air. The technology, developed at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) Department of Medical Devices, was created for people with transfemoral amputations.
It can respond to volume changes up to 15 percent, and can relieve pain in the affected area by distributing the applied pressure while minimizing the socket’s movement, according to the researcher team.
The socket is linked with a smartphone app that continuously measures gait stability so the user can monitor the pressure inside the prosthetic socket in real time and adjust to changes in the environment such as flat ground, stairs, or inclines, and changes in walking speed. In addition, the user can directly control the injection and discharge of air in the socket by setting the system to an automatic or manual mode.
To see videos of the device in action, visit Newswise.
