RESPONSES: socket warmers

RESPONSES: socket warmers

Zach Harvey

2/7/2014

Thanks everyone, these are some great ideas and suggestions. This gives us a lot of options, from simple to complex!

Zach
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I saw some article about a mountain climber who had a heat tape laminated into the socket. I think I found the link through a o and p shop in northern MN. I'll look around for it and see if I can find it.
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Perhaps something electrical in nature. It would have to be low powered enough to not risk damaging the lamination, and still keep him warm. It would have to be powered in some fashion though.
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possibly get some thermal underwear and cut the leg section into tubes to put on top of the plastic socket use adhesive Velcro hook to keep it in place on the socket. The material may insulate the socket. Heat kept in cold kept out. Just a thought I think worth a try. Possibly 2 or 3 layers.
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Any way you can take a thin mylar body heat reflective blanket (sold on ebay) and sew a sleeve of some kind to be worn inside or over pts leg
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The thing that comes to mind are the battery powered warming socks for ski boots etc, run off 9v battery. Not sure if you can splice them into existing socks or sandwich them between the flexible and hard socket or splay them open etc?
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As an AK Amputee and a CP, I have always been curious about this as well. I
hope that you will post replies.

I am curious in particular if different suspension methods either enhance or
reduce this heat sink effect. In colder climates, I suspect that the use
of a liner helps keep the limb warmer, but that same patient in warmer
climates wouldn't want to keep the heat trapped. When we've put patients in
vacuum sockets with urethane liners, we notice that their limbs are
typically warm when doffing their prosthesis. On the other hand, I'm not
sure what temperature ranges the vacuum pumps can tolerate. There are many
interesting research questions here: Do different liner materials conduce
or dissipate heat better than others? How does the use of vacuum assisted
suspension keep or dissipate the heat? Are some suspension methods better
than others for specific temperature ranges? I hope some of the
prosthetists in warmer and colder climates chime in to share what works for
them.
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1/8 foam wrap of the socket
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Battery powered warm socks work well and they come in a variety of sizes. Don't get the ones with a single D-cell they are wimpy. Look for the ones that use a 9V. For amputees who use socks the application is simple. For amputees that don't you can tape them to the outside of the socket.

I have a biker patient who rides year round and we laminated one directly into his winter socket. _______________
I have a single BKA. I ride a lot in winter here in Reno where it is often in the twenties in the morning. I usually don't have a problem with heat loss through the socket. On those cold days I wear snug warm up pants with leg warmers underneath. Cycling tights may help too. Rob may not be used to wearing long pants but they would help him stay warmer I think. Good luck. I am tracking Rob on FB.
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<URL Redacted>

dhama innovations
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I've wondered if using ski boot heaters, which have a thin wire strip
that acts as a heating element, would work. I assume you are using a
flexible inner socket and maybe they could be fit between this and the
carbon frame. Unfortunately I don't the cables/wire would be long enough
and may be to localized, but maybe they could be attached to a larger thin
heat conducting material.(?)
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Try neoprene wrap around the socket to hold the heat in I've also laminated in heated socks with mild success but its been several years They have to be close to the innermost lamo layers.
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Take a peak at these.

<URL Redacted>

Perhaps place them on the outside of the composite socket and then wrap the socket with bubble wrap and ace or neoprene sleve?

Probably a good thing to attach a stick on thermometer to make sure skin temps don't get too high.

It is 12volt so the batteries may not be too heavy.
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Sockets in research have shown them to be poor conductors of heat. This means that they will retain both heat or cold. Is this with a liner interface, which are are even more insulative? Why not just treat it like a water heater and cover the socket with some sort of insulative blanket? How about convert a battery operated electric sock, or sew two of 'em together?
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There is an article in the AOPA in advance now that addresses that exact topic.
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This is how I solve the problem:

<URL Redacted>

Works very well so far.

The heating elements provide a stable and comfortable temperature, not
like some other mobile heat solution.
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This was posted a couple years ago. There are several other threads that came up when I searched heated, including your post from last year.

http://www.oandp.com/oandp-l/message.asp?frmmessageid=c04c8d7c-13b3-4bbb-86a4-4de6a745b921
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I live in the north, and I feel like insulating a socket should be the same as insulating anything else. Rather than trying to heat up the limb from the inside, I would suggest insulating the socket from the outside… something fuzzy wrapped around the socket, covered in something wind/waterproof like plastic. The first layer provides an air blanket to preserve warmth, and the waterproof layer prevents outside air from getting in there to cool things down. Maybe cut the sleeves off of a sweater and wrap it in saran wrap for a low-cost option
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If the inside of a double walled socket was of a thin flexible plastic, the hand warmer could be sandwiched in-between an outer liner, perhaps filling a cavity with wax, then making a removable door that could be attached with velcro. _____________
Look into ski boot warmers. They are thin and have temperature adjustment built in.
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Try the eclectic socks. They operate on a rechargeable battery and depending upon his circumference may work just fine.
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You may want to consider the expanded-polyethylene material that electronics are wrapped in for shipping. This is a very light weight material and would create an air barrier between the socket and the rider, impeding the thermal transfer. Plus it does not absorb moisture and is readily available.

Just thinking like MacGyver,

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