A Soft Robotic Device for Targeted Massage Therapy of Residual Limbs

Residual limb edema after amputation complicates rehabilitation and delays prosthetic fitting. This work presents a soft‐robotic compression device for edema management in residual upper and lower limbs following amputation. Helically wound McKibben actuators (diameters of 5 and 8 mm; lengths of 50 and 100 cm) are embedded within a textile substrate and actuated sequentially to emulate manual lymphatic drainage. A wearable control unit allows sequential actuation. The actuators achieve strains of 26%–28% at 1.5 bar, with a maximum standard deviation of 0.60%, and deliver maximum forces ranging from 33 to 60 N. FEM simulations conducted on rigid cylindrical models representing limbs (8.5 and 15 cm diameter for arm and leg, respectively) predict peak interface pressures of 33–48 kPa (arm) and 21–32 kPa (leg), which are confirmed by benchtop experiments (37–45 kPa and 24–32 kPa for arm and leg, respectively). In vitro validation on high‐fidelity residual limb simulators demonstrates therapeutic interface pressures of 5–11 kPa (upper limb) and 6–13 kPa (lower limb), consistent with values reported in the literature. These results demonstrate the system's potential as a highly customizable and effective solution for postoperative edema management, enabling personalized and at‐home treatment.