I-Corps: Ligament Tension Sensor

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种测量韧带张力的设备。韧带是在关节处将骨骼连接在一起并帮助引导关节运动的组织。尽管了解韧带张力对于广泛的临床应用(如韧带修复和全膝关节置换术)至关重要，但目前还没有直接和非侵入性的在体测量韧带张力的设备。使用所提出的装置测量韧带张力可以帮助外科医生更好地个性化治疗，这可能会减少纠正经常导致疼痛、僵硬和/或不稳定的不适当拉伸韧带的昂贵的后续程序的需要。此外，该装置可作为诊断和术前计划工具，也可用于骨科和康复临床。该I-Corps项目基于一种基于韧带中剪切波的传播速度来确定韧带张力的装置的开发。这种现象类似于吉他弦的振动频率随张力的变化(即，越紧的弦具有更高的剪切波速度和频率)。替代技术(例如，扣式传感器和光纤)测量韧带张力，但需要侵入性植入，防止将其移植到临床。拟议中的传感器技术被称为韧带张力计，放置在感兴趣的韧带浅层的皮肤上，该设备激发剪切波，并跟踪其在皮肤和皮下组织中的传播。已经证明，波沿韧带传播的速度准确地预测了韧带中的张力。建议的初始目标应用是全膝关节置换术，因为这项技术可以使外科医生识别和纠正个别结构可能不适当的张力，这可以减轻术后疼痛、僵硬和不稳定。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a device to measure the tension in ligaments. Ligaments are tissues that connect bones together at joints and help guide the motion of the joint. Despite the critical importance of understanding ligament tension for a wide range of clinical applications (e.g., ligament repair and total knee replacement), there are no devices to directly and non-invasively measure ligament tension in vivo. Measuring ligament tension using the proposed device may help surgeons to better personalize treatments, which may reduce the need for costly follow-up procedures to correct improperly tensioned ligaments that often cause pain, stiffness, and/or instability. In addition, the proposed device may be used as a diagnostic and pre-operative planning tool as well as in orthopedic and rehabilitation clinics.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a device to determine ligament tension based on the propagation speed of shear waves in the ligament. This phenomenon is similar to the variation in a guitar string’s vibration frequency with tension (i.e., a tighter string has a higher shear wave speed and frequency). Alternative technologies (e.g., buckle transducers and optical fibers) measure ligament tension, but require invasive implantations preventing their translation into the clinic. The proposed sensor technology, called a ligament tensiometer, is placed against the skin superficial to the ligament of interest and the device excites a shear wave and tracks its propagation through the skin and subcutaneous tissues. It has been shown that the speed that the wave travels along the ligament accurately predicts the tension in the ligament. The proposed initial target application is total knee arthroplasty because the technology may enable surgeons to identify and correct individual structures that may be improperly tensioned, which could mitigate post-operative pain, stiffness, and instability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.