College of Engineering students Stacey Le and Mio Nakagawa are making strides in refining the prosthetic fit technology spearheaded by structural engineering Professor Long Wang in collaboration with Sony. The project focuses on developing a wearable sensor system to monitor pressure between a prosthetic socket and residual limb, enhancing both comfort and safety for amputees.
Le, who is majoring in biomedical engineering, concentrated on data collection and analysis, simulating limb anomalies to study pressure distribution changes caused by poor prosthetic fit. Nakagawa, who is studying computer science, worked on building and fine-tuning the algorithm, which is now ready for practical deployment. The team will also incorporate user interface improvements to ensure the system is intuitive for amputees.
“This project has enabled me to explore my passion for medical devices with hardware and software integration while addressing real-world challenges,” Le said. Nakagawa added, “I’ve gained confidence in applying machine learning to practical solutions, and it’s been a rewarding experience.”
Le and Nakagawa first joined the project as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program and reflected on the interdisciplinary collaboration and skills they have since gained. “The experience taught me to communicate my ideas effectively and strengthened my problem-solving abilities,” said Nakagawa, who plans to pursue a master’s degree focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Meanwhile, Max Lewter, a master’s student in biomedical engineering who has been involved in the project from the outset, successfully defended his thesis related to the prosthetic fit system this fall. Lewter’s work on configuring circuits to integrate Sony’s microcontroller has been pivotal to the project’s progress. “Expanding medical care is a crucial field, and I’m hopeful we can make it happen,” Lewter said.
Wang noted the project’s transformative potential: “With this system, we’re addressing a critical gap in real-time sensing solutions for amputees. It has the ability to significantly improve quality of life by reducing discomfort and preventing injuries.”
Together, these efforts align with the broader goal of creating technology that empowers users to manage prosthetic adjustments independently, particularly in underserved communities.
By Emily Slater
