Measuring Residual Limb Skin Temperatures at the Skin-Prosthesis Interface
By Huff, Elizabeth A.; Ledoux, William R.; Berge, Jocelyn S.; Klute, Glenn K.; Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 170-173Publication Date: October 2008
Article describes an instrument for measuring an amputee’s residual-limb temperatures at the skin-prosthesis interface. The instrument is composed of 16 thermistors each connected through a linear voltage divider to a data acquisition system. Data from all 16 channels are simultaneously collected at 1 Hz, and a curve fit is used to calculate temperature from the measured output voltage. The instrument was tested with a 59-year-old male unilateral transtibial amputee who completed a laboratory protocol consisting of resting for one hour followed by a 30-minute walk on a treadmill at self-selected speed, and finally rest for one more hour. Residual-limb skin temperature was sampled at 1 Hz for the entire 2.5-hour protocol. Walking with the prosthesis caused a rapid increase in temperature, but the temperature did not reach a steady state even after 30 minutes of walking. At the end of the final rest period, the skin temperature had not returned to their initial rest-period values, which demonstrates the difficulty of releasing heat through the prosthesis. The authors conclude that this instrument provides a means to quantify the thermal environment at the skin-prosthesis interface, which is a necessary step before further research can be conducted to explore the effects of different socket and suspension system materials and geometry to provide a more thermally comfortable prosthesis.
Published by: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins (Website:http://www.lww.com)
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J55610
