Patent ID: 8114167

Claim:
A socket system in an artificial limb for amputees having a residual limb, the socket system being vacuum-managed and dynamically activated by weight-bearing loads and variable in response to shear forces imposed by weight-bearing loads, the socket system comprising: (a) a liner adapted to engage the residual limb; (b) an inner socket having a textured surface; (c) an inner socket air wick between the liner and the inner socket; (d) an outer socket having a textured surface; (e) an outer socket air wick between the inner socket and the outer socket; (f) a sealing sleeve engaging the outer socket and for engaging the residual limb, creating a sealed chamber enclosing the outer socket, the outer socket air wick, the inner socket, and the inner socket air wick; (g) a vacuum source connected to the sealed chamber and creating a vacuum within the sealed chamber, said vacuum drawing the inner socket air wick against the textured surface of the inner socket and the outer socket air wick against the textured surface of the outer socket; (h) wherein the socket system is dynamically activated in response to weight bearing loads and has a variable response to vertical, tangential, and rotational forces imposed by the weight bearing loads, thereby minimizing vacuum pockets or voids within the system, distributing shear forces evenly over the residual limb, and maintaining total contact between the residual limb and the socket system.