Veterans who wear prosthetic lower legs could experience healthier and more comfortable lifestyles following novel artificial intelligence research at New Jersey Institute of Technology, in conjunction with the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Approximately 75% of patients with lower limb loss experience skin problems such as blisters, calluses, irritations, ulcers or wounds where their remaining limb attaches to their prosthetic one, despite existing best practices in the development of liners that help hold the prosthetic in place and ease these issues, VA biomechanical engineer Jason Maikos said.
“No socket fits 100% perfectly on somebody’s limb. It’s impossible to do that. So there is movement of that residual limb inside the prosthetic socket. Some of that movement is up and down, some of it is rotating. What happens is, if there’s too much excessive movement on the residual limb, on the skin specifically, you can get skin abrasions, you can get skin wounds, and for people who have complications of diabetes, this can be very problematic,” he said.
“If you have an open wound, and you have trouble healing quickly, you can’t wear the prosthetic device. So now you no longer can walk without crutches, which is not great, or you’re now ambulating in a wheelchair, or you’re not ambulating at all.” To read the full story.