FibsDip

The project FibsDip was a 2023 and 2024 winner of the PREMATURATION call for projects, led by the Innovation Lab of IP Paris.

Although technical solutions exist to aid patients and restore their mobility, clinical complications are frequent, and too many patients still give up using prostheses. Prosthetists, lack precise and reliable indicators and are required to review their patients several times before determining an acceptable solution.

Our laboratory has conducted a PhD thesis on the performance of amputee athletes practicing long jump. As part of this research, a device has been imagined to measure the pressure between the prosthesis and the residual limb. The device has evolved to allow an extended application to everyday prosthesis users. Over the past several years, this project has evolved significantly, and a specialized, multidisciplinary team has been formed to further its development.

• The device consists of a patch with optical fibers integrating FBGs as sensors, allowing to measure the distribution of pressures in different areas, without hindering the patient's movements. Bragg Gratings enable precise estimation of pressures and shears. A software has been developped to visualize the pressure distribution in real time.

• Different geometries of sensors integrating a different number of sensors have been tested.

• Pressure measurements with precision, accuracy and repeatability at the interface between the liner and the socket. 

• A connected, robust, non-invasive, flexible, small, easy-to-use device, allowing it to be positioned without disturbing the use of prostheses. 

• A device adaptable to different parts of the body, patient populations and pathologies.