Amputee Life — Amputee News

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) developed a prosthetic socket fit sensor that identifies pressure points within a socket. As of this writing, the technology is patented and is available via patent license agreement to prosthetic companies that would make or sell the device commercially.

A team of researchers from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering are working on a solution to the volume issue, thanks to a $400,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation in late 2019. For three years, the team will dedicate their time to the study of volume loss and eventually develop smart prosthetic sockets to improve comfort and prosthetic performance.  

When one loses a limb, the brain is unable to fully process and still sends signals. It will continue to send signals to that limb—this is the leading cause behind phantom limb pain. While this occurrence may cause discomfort, it gives prosthetic researchers hope to use these signals to continue improving prostheses until they feel and act like a biological limb.

One of the most common complaints of lower-limb prosthetic users is that their prosthetic socket is uncomfortable. It’s a good thing that researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found a way to personalize prosthetic sockets through FitSocket. 

Saying that exercise is beneficial for your health is not news. However, new evidence suggests that vigorous exercise may reduce one's risk of heart disease and even cancer. Encouraging findings of this new study was presented during EuroEcho 2019, a conference of the European Society of Cardiology.