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Smart Prosthetic for Lower Limb Amputees Utilizing a Novel Shear and Normal Force Sensor

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2017, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Electrical Engineering.
Pressure ulcers are a dangerous injury resulting from extensive pressure being applied to the body over a prolonged period of time resulting in a lack of blood flow reaching the affected site. If the pressure is not relieved in a timely manner, the lack of nutrients causes the tissue in the surrounding area to eventually die and decompose creating an open sore that could become infected. Pressure ulcers usually form over areas of the skin where a boney prominence is closest to the skin, such as the hips or ankle bones, so subjects who lose a leg and depend on a prosthetic are at constant risk of developing them due to the residual leg bone left by the surgery. In addition to this, muscle mass is reduced in subjects with a lower limb amputation due to lack of use which brings the bone even closer to the surface of the skin. If a lower limb amputee does form a pressure ulcer, they can no longer rely on their prosthetic for mobility and are reduced to using crutches, a wheelchair, or are bedridden until the wound heals. This thesis presents a low cost, high mobility prototype microcontroller-based pressure sensor that is capable of detecting normal and shear forces with the possibility of said sensor being integrated into a lower limb prosthetic to detect problem areas of high pressure in real time. This information can then alert the user to a potential problem with their prosthetic allowing them to take proactive measures to prevent a pressure ulcer from forming. The proposed device incorporates an off-the-shelf microcontroller that serves as the control unit along with flexible analog piezoresistive sensors. Using the built-in analog-to-digital module and serial peripheral interface, the device is capable of measuring and storing approximately 1,000 data points per second and detecting pressures in the range of 60mmHg to 798mmHg.
Fred Beyette, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Carla Purdy, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Philip Wilsey, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
80 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lohrer, J. (2017). Smart Prosthetic for Lower Limb Amputees Utilizing a Novel Shear and Normal Force Sensor [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504803734497035

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lohrer, John. Smart Prosthetic for Lower Limb Amputees Utilizing a Novel Shear and Normal Force Sensor. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504803734497035.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lohrer, John. "Smart Prosthetic for Lower Limb Amputees Utilizing a Novel Shear and Normal Force Sensor." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504803734497035

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)