WillowWood Global, Mount Sterling, Ohio, has been awarded a $450,000 grant from the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for utilizing the company’s Alpha SmartTemp platform to research material additives and improve the thermal properties of prosthetic socket technology.
“We are really excited that the DOD has awarded us this grant to continue building upon our Alpha SmartTemp technology platform,” said Daniel Rubin, COO. “At WillowWood, our R&D team has had a tremendous track record in commercializing products through governmental and academic grants with a portfolio which is currently in excess of $6 million.”
By using a blend of proprietary materials with heat absorption properties, the technology allows the liner to absorb and store heat from a residual limb and delay the onset of sweat. The vision of the project is to develop a solution that addresses the issue of heat and perspiration within the socket using learnings from this liner without adding complexity, weight, bulk, or significant cost to the overall system, the company said.
This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, through the Restoring Warfighters with Neuromusculoskeletal Injuries Research Award (RESTORE) Program under Award No. W81XWH2110165. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the DoD.
