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Recent Projects: Engineering in Medicine

Orthopaedic Polymer Monitoring Utilizing Integrated Sensors

Team: Kristen Barnico, Dean Qiu, Margaret Sullivan
Sponsor: Dr. Martin Roche, Orthosensor, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Advisor: Professor Stuart Trembly

The project team's goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of using ultrasound as a method of monitoring the wear of a UHMWPE tibial bearing in vivo. To propose potential design solutions, the project team performed several experiments. The results of experimentation demonstrate that ultrasound in pulse-echo mode is a viable method of measuring clinically relevant changes in thickness. A severe wear rate of 0.38 mm/year is detectable in six months to one year. Additionally, the project team determined that the ideal location for ultrasonic sensors is in the tibial tray. Future work should focus on in vivo coupling methods.

Sensor Monitoring Of Orthopaedic Implant Instability

Team: Tom Matthews, Chris Noel, Kim Rocio
Sponsor: Dr. Martin Roche, Orthosensor, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Advisor: Dr. Michael Mayor

Sensor Monitoring Of Orthopaedic Implant Instability This project examines the possibility of detecting orthopaedic implant instability using ultrasonic sensors. Experimental results demonstrated that ultrasound could be used to measure the thickness of a single layer. However, using the available equipment, a signal could not be distinguished from the background noise after traveling through bone and a second layer. Theoretical analysis examined possible ultrasonic modes of operation for pulse and continuous wave signals to determine the ideal properties of a sensor for this application. Based on these efforts, recommendations for a potential solution as well as necessary improvements were made to our sponsor company, Orthosensor.

Sterilization Of Intravenous Fluid

Team: Kathryn Boucher, Renee Cottle, Steve Reinitz
Sponsor: Dr. Corey Burchman, Anesthesiologist, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N.H.
Advisor: Professor Karl Griswold

The increased prevalence of nosocomial infections has adversely impacted the quality and cost of healthcare globally. In the United States alone, approximately 50,000 to 120,000 patients develop infusion-related bacterial infections each year. The team and its sponsor sought to develop an IV sterilization device that would satisfy this societal need, thereby saving lives while also saving hospitals millions of dollars in costs associated with infections. The team has developed a proof of concept demonstrating their ability to disinfect IV fluid using UV-C radiation and has successfully developed a first generation prototype of the device.

This project received the Thayer School of Engineering Corporate Collaboration Council Engineering Design Prize.