Optical fibre sensing at the interface between tissue and orthosis or prosthesis
The Medical Devices and Vulnerable Skin Network has previously highlighted that the interface between tissue and orthoses or prostheses is an area of concern as the device can cause skin irritation, pain and eventually leads to pressure ulcers. Improving the design, application and monitoring of such devices has been identified as a key step forward in reducing these problems.
Wearable sensors offer the potential to continuously monitor the device-skin interface in both the clinical and community settings. Optical fibre sensors are particularly useful as they are light weight, flexible, low cost, thin and can be used to measure the properties of the skin that are linked to tissue breakdown. The University of Nottingham has led research into the integration of optical fibre sensors into textiles. These are particularly relevant for this application as at the interface between tissue and orthosis/prosthesis is often a textile (sock). To date our group has demonstrated monitoring of pressure, temperature, humidity and a number of other useful indicators of tissue breakdown in the laboratory setting.
Within this project we aim to conduct a study to investigate the feasibility of using OFS to monitor parameters of interest at the tissue-device interface. We anticipate that the data obtained will support next stage funding applications for a wearable device that can be used to better understand tissue breakdown; to detect early signs of breakdown before injury occurs and support better design of orthoses and prostheses.