Research grant to help amputee soldiers return to duty

4 November 2009

Professor Siamak Moroozi, Professor John Vinney and Dr Philip Sewell

Blatchford are collaborating with BU researchers to help amputee soldiers return to active duty.

Chas A. Blatchford & Sons Ltd., the UK’s leading design and manufacturer of advanced prosthetics and orthotics devices, have been awarded a grant of nearly £90,000 to collaborate with Bournemouth University (BU) researchers to assist amputee soldiers return to active duty.

Blatchford has won funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for a three-year project to develop a new generation of lower-limb prosthesis sockets (interface between the missing limb and prosthesis) to improve function and comfort utilising the expertise in BU’s Design Simulation Research Centre.

Blatchford works with the Ministry of Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, Surrey, where many soldiers return to following injury in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The new socket developed by the research project, aims to help return 75 per cent of amputee soldiers back to active duty. It will compensate for changes in limb volume due to fluid build-up and muscle wastage, and provide a high level of fit during walking, sitting, standing and manoeuvring over rough terrains.

BU academics, Professor Siamak Noroozi, Senior Lecturer Philip Sewell and Professor John Vinney, will support Blatchford’s work at the MoD. Senior Lecturer, Philip Sewell said: “Blatchford has a wealth of experience in the clinical aspects of this research; while our researchers at BU, in association with the NHS, have developed a novel technique for non-invasive monitoring of socket fit which will be a key component in the new socket design.

“Previous techniques for measuring socket fit have required either precise knowledge of the socket material properties or placement of pressure sensors internally within the socket, which interfere with socket fit and ease of walking. The new technique allows accurate real-time in-service load / pressure data to be collected without any of these problems.

“The new prosthesis socket may also be used by the NHS. Most of the expenditure in NHS prosthetics centres comes from the repeated need for manufacturing sockets, with the average life of less than a year for an established amputee and 6 months for primary amputees. This socket will be able to potentially reduce the frequency for which new prostheses are required.

Professor Noroozi said: “The outcome of this research will assist in improving the quality of life of a significant proportion of the population. We hope to build on this success by also collaborating with the National Centre for Prosthetics & Orthotics based at the University of Strathclyde, to utilise our novel technique to further improve prosthesis fitting practices. In addition we are submitting a bid for funding to apply this technique to Ankle Foot Orthosis fitting in collaboration with University of Southampton.”

BU academics are also working with the Paralympic 2012 Committee to ensure their research can inform and influence the inclusion of new technologies at the Games.