Close
The aim is to develop methodology to remotely capture patient data for a custom socket design. This will reduce travel, reduce costs, minimise timescales, and improve prosthetic access and care.
Start date: 6th February 2023
End date: 6th July 2023
PI: Dr Nicola Bailey (University of Bath)
Co-Is: Dr Elena Seminati (University of Bath), Dr Martin Twiste (Salford University)
Partners: The Alex Lewis Trust
The number of people with amputations worldwide is growing, and they can face serious physical and psychosocial disabilities which compromise their quality-of-life. However, prosthetics can improve their independence and inclusion. To maximise prosthetic users’ experience and comfort, a well-fitting prosthetic socket, which is the interface between the amputee’s residual limb and rest of the prosthetic, is vital.
The NHS is responsible for over 55,000 patient’s prostheses, which costs approximately £60-80M each year and involves 35 centres, each of which receives 50-350 new referrals every year. The specialised multi-disciplinary team at each centre includes a prosthetist, who is responsible for the socket creation and fitting. The residual limb geometry is captured through either a traditional labour intensive hands-on approach based on taking plaster casts (see Figure 1) or by utilising digital technology, such as laser scanners. Subsequently, a rectified copy of the residual limb is produced, from which the socket design is created. However, these approaches can be time consuming, wasteful and resource-intensive processes, with multiple visits to the centre necessary.
This proposal aims to develop methodology to remotely capture patient data for a custom socket design. This will alleviate the burden of travel, reduce costs and minimise time scales, whilst providing maximum effective care and removing many barriers that currently exist to improve prosthetic access. The approach will utilise photos and videos provided by the amputee to map out their residual limb, which is used to design a personalised prosthetic socket to ensure maximum comfort and functionality.