A portion of a $500,000 grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) awarded to the University of Pittsburgh and Widener University will be used for research to improve prosthetic materials that come into contact with the skin. Nearly $140,000 of the funding will support research being conducted by Jonathan Akins, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Widener University, and Goeran Fiedler, PhD, assistant professor of rehabilitation science and technology at the University of Pittsburgh.
The project will generate evidence-based practice guidance for temperature-controlled liner technologies. The clinical trial will include data collection over the course of two years at both universities. The research will also examine the use of prosthetic liners to determine if liners that use phase-change material can regulate and reduce the user’s tendency to sweat.
“There are already commercially available liners that use phase-change materials,” Akins said. “This double-blinded study will collect data from individuals that use conventional liners and phase-change material liners to see if they experience a difference in prosthesis utilization, physical performance, and quality of life.”
Editor’s note: This story was adapted from materials provided by Widener University.
