Intrasocket Cooling Element (ICE)
Controlling residual limb temperatures for prosthetics users
Medical Need:
Service members, veterans and civilians living with lower limb prostheses seek improved comfort, capability, and quality of life. Vivonics' cooling socket will reduce heat and skin damage from prolonged socket use. The cooling socket technology will provide enhanced comfort to amputees as well as mitigation of the compromise in suspension due to perspiration.
In modern combat, improvements in body armor and increased use of explosives leads to more wounded soldiers surviving their injuries and an increase in the military amputee population. Improvements in the prosthetic limb function have outpaced improvements of device fit and comfort. Several concerns remain as to the interface to the residual limb – skin can be damaged by poor fit, friction, and trapped moisture.
Vivonics is working with Liberating Technologies Inc. to develop improved comfort prosthetics. Focus is on modifying current liner materials and design to address perspiration extraction, and Peltier cooler hardware to provide active temperature management.
Intrasocket Cooling Element (ICE) is being prepared for clinical release in first human subject trials under Vivonics’ quality management system. A first round of trials will be conducted in a lab setting to demonstrate efficacy beginning in Q3 of 2018. A second round of trials, slated to begin in Q4 of 2018, will evaluate efficacy and user satisfaction during a 2 month take home trial.
Full patent filed and CIP being finalized
Disclaimer: This Material is based upon work supported by the US Army under Contract No. W81XWH-17-C-0005. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Army.
(Award W81XWH-17-C-0005 is titled: “Development of Active Cooling System for Improving Residual Limb Skin Care”)
Product under development, not yet FDA approved