For the ambulatory person with lower-limb amputation, insufficient management of perspiration can result in inadequate prosthesis adherence, reduced mobility, and discomfort. This study compared a dynamic air exchange (DAE) prosthesis designed to expel accumulated perspiration with a total surface bearing suction socket (suction) that cannot. Five people with unilateral transtibial amputation participated in a randomized, crossover experiment. All subjects were given a 1 wk acclimation period to each study prosthesis while we measured their step activity levels. A rest-walk-rest protocol, including a 30 min treadmill walk at a self-selected speed while wearing thermally insulative garments, was then used to observe residual-limb skin temperatures and perspiration. Afterward, subject opinions about the prostheses were assessed with questionnaires. During the weeklong acclimation period, no statistical difference in step activity levels were detected between prostheses (p = 0.22), but this may have been due to self-reported behavioral modifications. During the rest-walk-rest protocol, no differences in skin temperatures were observed (p = 0.37). The DAE prosthesis accumulated 1.09 +/- 0.90 g and expelled 0.67 +/- 0.38 g of perspiration, while the Suction prosthesis accumulated 0.97 +/- 0.75 g. The questionnaire results suggest that participants were receptive to both prostheses. The DAE prosthesis was able to expel more than a third of the total perspiration, suggesting it may enable longer uninterrupted periods of perspiration-inducing activity.

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