Q&A: Meet a scientist who's dedicated decades to solving one of prosthetics' biggest problems

Dr. Joan Sanders, a scientist at the University of Washington, has dedicated her career to improving prosthetics for lower limb amputees. She is the lead author of a new study in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, detailing a method for creating prosthetic sockets with built-in sensors that monitor the socket's fit in real time.

This innovation could enable prosthetists to track patients' changing needs and adjust the socket for better fit. Sanders' career began in biomechanics and prosthetic care, focusing on measuring pressure and shear stress inside transtibial sockets. Her team later moved into cell biology of skin adaptation and biomaterials, ultimately developing sensor systems and automated adjustable sockets that quantify real-time socket fit.

These tools have led to six patents and over 20 published papers, all demonstrating that adjustable, sensor-informed sockets improve limb fluid volume stability and socket fit. Sanders primarily works with lower-limb transtibial prosthesis users, including military service members with traumatic injuries. Her current focus is advancing adjustable socket and sensing technology, aiming to provide clinicians with quantitative insights into socket performance outside the clinic.

She believes this technology will enhance the patient-prosthetist relationship, making prosthetics more adaptable to patients' needs and reducing the burden on users. Sanders envisions a future where prosthetic sockets can adapt in real time, relieving patients of the constant management required for their prostheses.