Sabolich Socket
It is the socket interface that provides the comfort and control of the prosthesis. A result of the innovative work of John Sabolich, the development of the breakthrough Sabolich Socket for above-knee amputees radically changed life for our patients and the field of prosthetics in general.
Unique socket features
- The totally flexible socket has anatomically-designed channels and grooves for various muscle, bone, tendon, vascular and nerve areas.
- Built-in relief for concentrated pressure areas.
- Because it is totally flexible around the top, a higher, more intimate fit is possible for better side-to-side control and front-to-back stability.
- Contoured alignment of the femur, preventing shifting within the socket.
Amputees are able to control their prosthesis more effectively, allowing them to re-enter the work force and to participate in recreational activities such as running, dancing and golfing.
The Sabolich Socket and other socket innovations have established greater comfort levels for amputees and demonstrate our diligence to create a socket system that is intimately fit to each particular patient. Since no two patients are the same, no two patients have the same requirements in order to achieve an acceptable level of comfort. Strong collaborative efforts between the clinical and research staff exist to design a prosthetic system tailored to each patient to optimize performance and comfort.
Technology
Research and development plays a critical role in advancing most scientific endeavors.
We understand the immense importance of research and development and the direct impact it has on our patient’s lives.
The late John Sabolich, CPO, devoted over thirty years of his career to developing much of the technology that has shaped the field of prosthetics. Throughout his career, he combined intensive research efforts with daily clinical practice. His leadership in the field of prosthetics is unparalleled. International recognition of his accomplishments has attracted patients from all over the world. He was the recipient of national awards that honor his business and humanitarian achievements, including the Neuropathic Foot Protection System for diabetics, earned research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Medical Research.
The prosthetics research and design industry is entering a groundbreaking and exciting era. Revolutionary technology promises to radically enhance the capabilities of patients. Our designs will allow the prosthesis to sense, think, and respond to the environment and are much more accommodating and adjustable. In addition, integrating the prosthesis with the human brain will allow the amputee to actually feel with their device.
We are leading the way in the critical fields of artificial intelligence, environmental feedback, materials design, and motorized articulation. We are creating designs that are radically different than conventional thinking by using advanced sensor technologies, smart control systems, and innovative computer modeling. We continue to innovate and develop numerous products that are literally designs of the future.
We anticipate and envision what prosthetics will look and feel like ten to twenty years from now and strive to make them realities within the next few years. We continually strive to give 100 percent functionality back to our patients through innovation, which will become reality as technological breakthroughs emerge.
Our Technology
- C-Leg Knee
- Compact Knee
- Kenevo Knee
- Genium Knee
- X3 Knee
- Harmony Vacuum Socket System
- Environmentally Managed Socket System (EMS)
- Helix 3D Hip (Currently says Helix 3D Hi)
- Myobock
- Michelangelo Hand
- Bebionic Hand
- Dynamic Arm
- Meridium Ankle
- Empower Foot
- Ergo Arm
- Myo Plus
Blatchford
- Orion Knee
- Elan Knee
- Linx System
Ossur
- Rheo Knee
- Proprio Ankle
- Unity Vacuum Socket System
- Icecast Modular Socket System
Freedom
- Plie Knee
Artech
- Custom Silicone Restoration
Willowwood
- Limblogic Vacuum Socket System
- One System (Transfemoral Vacuum Socket)
Motion Control
- Taska Hand
- Utah Arm
Touch Bionics
- I-Digits Quantum
- I-Limb
- Living Skin
Point Designs
- Point Digit
- Point Partial
- PIP Driver
- MCP Driver
- Thumb Driver
- Griplock Finger
College Park
- Titan Finger
- Espire Elbow
- M Fingers
Infinite Biomedical Technologies
- Flex Cell
- Sense
- Element
Coapt
- Pattern Recognition Gen 2
Research & Development
Sensory Feedback Systems
Our bodies rely on continual communication between our limbs and our mind in order to perform the required and intended movements with precision, dexterity, and coordination. New developments from the research and development team include a Sensory Feedback System, an effort to restore communication from the prosthesis to the amputee.
Sensors incorporated in the prosthesis respond proportionately to the environment and send signals to a microprocessor, which interprets the signals and in turn sends them to stimulators located on the skin of the patient’s residual limb. The mind of the patient interprets the sensations generated by the prosthesis, called cerebral projections, as if they were generated by their anatomical limb. In other words, the patients feel their residual limb as if it were actually reconnected to their body.
The Sensory Feedback System provides several benefits to the wearer. First and foremost, it provides the patient with sensory feedback, restoring the senses that were lost due to amputation. It enables the amputee to sense that the prosthesis is an extension of their own body, provides psychological benefits, and may significantly reduce phantom pain. Initial trials with the system are providing fascinating results and clearly demonstrate the mind’s ability to sense touch at a distance from the body.
The described Sensory Feedback System is currently being developed at our facility and has attracted national and international attention from the scientific community. Prosthetics of the future will definitely require communication between the body and the prosthesis, and we intend to lead innovation efforts to bring the necessary technology to establish communication to the practical arena within the next few years.
Computer-Controlled Prosthetics
The more the human body and its many aspects including appearance, control systems, and biomechanical movements can be mimicked, the more functional, safe, and lifelike the amputee’s abilities will become. We believe the way to successfully mesh man and machine is incorporating computer-controlled prosthetics, which is currently a focus of our research. Using artificial intelligence with adaptive control algorithms, our designs allow the prosthesis to sense, think, and respond to the environment.
Our patented computer-controlled prosthetic joint designs employ a microprocessor that provides the appropriate biomechanical function, optimal resistance, and joint angle independent of gait speed and/or terrain. Computer-controlled systems improve the safety, symmetry, and functional abilities of the amputee and may be used on the majority of lower-extremity amputees, including below-knee, above-knee, and hip disarticulation levels.
Because of the advanced nature of the control program, computer-controlled designs are able to provide adaptations to the gait pattern as well as sensory feedback much like the human brain controls anatomical limbs. It is anticipated that this technology will become commercially available within the next two to three years.