Dynamically Adaptive Prosthetic Limbs Enabled by Autonomous Soft Robotic Interfaces
Lead Participant:
UNHINDR LTD
Abstract
**"The human body changes shape, but prosthetic sockets don't."**
Our bodies are approximately 1.5 cm shorter in the evening, compared to the morning. Our feet and hands are larger in evenings. Most of us don't notice these changes because we wear flexible clothes.
However, if you lose a leg, you must wear a prosthetic limb attached to your body with a rigid U-shaped structure called a _socket_. Sockets are made of hard plastics to carry the bodyweight and hand-made to ensure the best custom-fit by following the stump's contour. Sadly, 75% of amputees are unhappy because the stump changes shape on an hourly basis whilst their custom-made rigid sockets don't. This leads to constant skin-rubbing, causing painful bleeding wounds and ulcers. Replacing sockets up to 4 times annually for the rest of amputees' lives is currently the best solution, costing £7.1billion public money in the UK, EU and US each year (Excluding woundcare cost: £2.4billion in UK alone(UK-Government/APPG;2019)).
**What:** Roliner is a sleeve-like device worn on the stump before wearing the prosthetic leg.
**How:** Roliner uses Artificial Intelligence to understand hourly/daily changes in the stump and adapts to them. Roliner's AI reads real-time sensors' data between the stump and socket, learns amputees' comfort preferences via an app, and seamlessly and continuously adjust the fitting by inflating/deflating Roliner's micro-channels.
**Impact:** Prosthesis fitting is the biggest barrier for amputees to maintain daily activities. Amputees depend upon fitting clinics. Therefore, within the first year of amputation, 1-in-6 amputees lose their jobs. 44.3% working-age amputees are economically inactive, costing £4.89billion in productivity loss(PapworthTrust,2016). Roliner's AI mimicking clinical practice will provide able-bodied-like walking experience, increase walking performance x3 times, reduce hospital dependency, and potentially save the NHS £1billion in socket adjustments, £2.4billion in socket wounds.
This project advances us from prototype to a clinical-testing device.
Our bodies are approximately 1.5 cm shorter in the evening, compared to the morning. Our feet and hands are larger in evenings. Most of us don't notice these changes because we wear flexible clothes.
However, if you lose a leg, you must wear a prosthetic limb attached to your body with a rigid U-shaped structure called a _socket_. Sockets are made of hard plastics to carry the bodyweight and hand-made to ensure the best custom-fit by following the stump's contour. Sadly, 75% of amputees are unhappy because the stump changes shape on an hourly basis whilst their custom-made rigid sockets don't. This leads to constant skin-rubbing, causing painful bleeding wounds and ulcers. Replacing sockets up to 4 times annually for the rest of amputees' lives is currently the best solution, costing £7.1billion public money in the UK, EU and US each year (Excluding woundcare cost: £2.4billion in UK alone(UK-Government/APPG;2019)).
**What:** Roliner is a sleeve-like device worn on the stump before wearing the prosthetic leg.
**How:** Roliner uses Artificial Intelligence to understand hourly/daily changes in the stump and adapts to them. Roliner's AI reads real-time sensors' data between the stump and socket, learns amputees' comfort preferences via an app, and seamlessly and continuously adjust the fitting by inflating/deflating Roliner's micro-channels.
**Impact:** Prosthesis fitting is the biggest barrier for amputees to maintain daily activities. Amputees depend upon fitting clinics. Therefore, within the first year of amputation, 1-in-6 amputees lose their jobs. 44.3% working-age amputees are economically inactive, costing £4.89billion in productivity loss(PapworthTrust,2016). Roliner's AI mimicking clinical practice will provide able-bodied-like walking experience, increase walking performance x3 times, reduce hospital dependency, and potentially save the NHS £1billion in socket adjustments, £2.4billion in socket wounds.
This project advances us from prototype to a clinical-testing device.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
Participant |
||
| UNHINDR LTD |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Ugur Tanriverdi (Project Manager) |