Defense Technology International - October 2007 - (Page 57) DAVID AXE/DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL o r s y d t t g . s e e n o a d r r a f e e lt h r r McClure and four other technicians make up to six sockets per day, but demand varies because patients are fitted with carbon-fiber sockets after their residual limbs have stabilized—and it’s unpredictable when that will happen. The socket has to be snug but not so tight that it hurts. “Getting the proper fit is critical to a patient being able to walk comfortably,” McClure says. But even a precisely crafted socket is a less-than-perfect solution to an amputee’s needs. “Residual limbs change sizes throughout the day,” says John Warren, a Walter Reed prosthesis designer. One quick fix is to fill a socket with a special gel that absorbs body heat and gradually expands, gently tightening a socket’s fit. Still, a socket is a socket, Stewart says. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to take it off.” The ideal replacement limb would be as permanent as the original, Army Spec. Michael Cameron is something you put on once and leave on one of over 650 amputees from forever, and that is as stable and tough wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. as a real leg. In recent years, prostheticians have begun refining a process land and Scandinavia but hasn’t been called “osteo-integration” that fuses a approved by the U.S. Food and Drug titanium pylon directly to the residual Administration, and is not practiced at bone. Prosthetic knees and ankles can Walter Reed, according to Ralph Uroglites, director of orthotics and prosthen be attached to the pylon. ILS Laptop ad Def is popular in Engthetics. He says that 1 Osteo-integration Tech Intl 8/17/05 11:03 AM Page most soldiers are at the facility for just a year, during the early stages of recovery from traumatic amputations when there is great risk of infection. Osteo-integration requires keeping the wound somewhat open at the point where the pylon emerges from the residual limb, and this increases the likelihood of infection. For that reason, amputees should elect osteo-integration only when other risk factors are low, perhaps years after their injury. Osteo-integration is an immature procedure that might improve greatly in coming years and find a niche at Walter Reed. In the meantime, work is underway to improve the basic low-tech socket. Walter Reed is working with Clemson University in South Carolina on a resinbased socket that can be reheated and reshaped, unlike current sockets, which can only be sanded down for alteration. Research into prostheses will help military and civilian amputees. The same technology is needed for walking robots—which might, in the future, go in harm’s way in place of humans, and take the impact of explosions in their place. � Read Axe’s posts on DTI’s weblog, Ares, updated daily: aresblog.net We can drop over 6,000 government buyers right in your lap. U.S. Government, Foreign Military Sales and NATO buyers at more than 60 civil and military activities, including the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines, NAMSA, RAF and the DLA (USA and Europe), use ILS to locate parts and equipment when they need them. With ILS Government e-Marketplace Services (GEM), buyers access the inventories of suppliers around the clock, around the world. We can help you reach them the instant they are ready to buy. Let us show you how. Email us today at ebusiness@ILSmart.com! Inventory Locator Service,® LLC 1-800-233-3414 (North America) • 1-901-794-5000 (Worldwide) • 1-901-794-1760 (Fax)) • ebusiness@ILSmart.com (e-mail) • www.ILSmart.com (website) ti www.aviationweek.com/dti OCTOBER 2007 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 57 DT_10_01_2007_p54-57.indd 57 3482291047 CMYK 9/26/07 3:32:07 PM � http://aresblog.net http://ILSmart.com http://ILSmart.com http://www.aviationweek.com/dti
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