For people who use lower-limb prostheses, everyday heat and perspiration can become a barrier to comfort, mobility and activity. 

Researchers from Texas Christian University’s fashion merchandising and kinesiology departments are bringing their disciplines together to address that challenge, collaborating with Texas A&M University and a prosthetics liner company to study how materials affect heat and moisture transfer between the body and prosthetics.  

So far, the team of researchers has secured a $25,000 grant from Texas A&M to kick-start the project and is in the process of submitting an R21 grant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for $250,000. 

“This project is exciting because it brings together expertise that normally doesn’t exist within a single research team,” said Graci Finco, assistant professor of kinesiology in the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences. “By combining biomechanics, prosthetics, apparel design, thermoregulation, engineering and industry, we're able to approach a long-standing clinical problem from multiple perspectives.” 

Research Across Disciplines 

Franco is the director of the Limb Loss and Difference Lab at TCU, which is devoted to doing research to improve the lives of those who have limb loss and prosthetics and increase their access to healthcare, regain mobility and improve their day-to-day lives.  

“It’s a great example of how interdisciplinary partnerships can accelerate clinically meaningful innovation for people with limb loss and difference, particularly since we all focus on improving human potential from various perspectives,” Finco said. 

Charles Freeman, fashion merchandising chair and the director of research and creative scholarship initiatives for the TCU College of Fine Arts brought another piece of the collaboration to TCU through the new Athlete Engineering & Materials Design Lab, providing the space and equipment needed to test and develop new materials. 

Fashion merchandising launched the lab as a new research and testing space focused on the products people depend on in extreme and demanding environments. Reaching far beyond the College of Fine Arts, the facility supports projects connected to athlete performance, rehabilitation, wearable health technologies, protective equipment and NASA-inspired soft goods research. In addition to space suits, the lab has work underway with prosthetics, defense gear and more. Future work may also include recovery products, wound care materials, adaptive equipment and smart integrated gear for military personnel, first responders and industrial workers. 

The prosthetic project reflects the kind of interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research that is increasingly central to TCU’s growth as a research university, bringing together specialized expertise and creating new opportunities for external funding and broader impact. 

“No single discipline can solve a challenge like this,” Freeman said. “Bringing together expertise in prosthetics, human performance, rehabilitation, textile engineering and industry gives us an opportunity to design with the entire person in mind, not simply the product.” 

Designing Around the Patient 

This team is evaluating how different materials used in single-use liners can affect heat and moisture accumulation during physical activity by integrating wearable monitoring devices, biomechanics, thermoregulation and textile engineering.  

“For people with limb loss and limb difference who use a prosthesis, over half report skin issues,” Finco said. “Our goal is to generate the evidence needed to design prosthetic interfaces that keep people healthier, more comfortable and ultimately more active.” 

The research also fits into a broader effort to develop better-performing materials for people whose bodies and equipment face demanding conditions. 

“Whether that is a Paralympic athlete, a warfighter, a first responder or someone simply trying to remain active with a prosthesis, better materials can remove barriers between people and what they want to accomplish,” Freeman said. 

The project brings together expertise from across disciplines to address a challenge that no single field could tackle as effectively on its own. It also reflects TCU’s growing research capacity, as faculty draw on new facilities, external partnerships and complementary areas of expertise to develop solutions informed by the needs of the people they serve. 

“A problem can persist for years even when much of the science needed to address it already exists. Sometimes what is missing is the right collaboration,” said Jim Weinstein, director of the Roach Institute of Athlete Engineering. “Charles and Graci bring complementary expertise to this challenge, with the person using the prosthesis as the center of gravity. As leaders, our job is to make those connections possible and support teams in turning what they know into solutions that improve people’s daily lives.” 

-McKenzie Campbell 
-Taylor Helmes