Joint Surgery: New Sensors on Knee Braces may Help Doctors Monitor Patients

New sensors may help Doctors monitor the recovery of knee surgery patients and that too at a distance as they will be able to observe the changes in patients with their phones or laptops.

Motion sensors can be attached to the Knee braces after the knee surgery to detect unnecessary movements made by the patients, this, in turn, help the doctors to monitor the recovery of surgical patients remotely. The findings of this study are //published in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical journal.

The small, tube-like device is designed to be fitted to braces after joint surgery to wirelessly send information to computers, smartphones or smartwatches to track the range of motion and other indicators of improvement.

Graphene Rubber Bands Could Stretch Limits of Current Healthcare
Researchers have treated common elastic bands with graphene, to create a flexible sensor that is sensitive enough for medical use and can be made cheaply.

‘Sensors when attached to the Knee Braces after surgery are able to inform doctors of the patient's condition, wherever he is as the information is sent directly to doctor’s computers, smartphones or smartwatch. ’

"That data would be continuously collected, so it would be as though the physician or physiotherapist was always there, always observing the patient," said Hassan Askari, an engineering doctoral candidate at Waterloo.

The same sensor could also be used in a variety of other ways, including in the tires of autonomous vehicles to detect and respond to icy roads.

A prototype built and tested by the researchers combines electromagnetism and triboelectricity, a relatively new energy harvesting technique that involves bringing different materials together to produce current.

Marathon History in Bionic Suit by British Woman
The first person to complete a marathon in a bionic suit is a paralysed British woman as she crossed the finishing line in London on Tuesday 16 days after the race began.

When bent or twisted, the device generates enough electricity for sensing and powering electronic circuits for processing and wireless signal transmission.

"The aim was to develop a sensor that works without having a battery attached to it," said Askari. "It is its own power source."

Pen That Reduces Stress!
A pen that can detect short term stress in its user and further alleviate some of the stress has been designed. This pen also helps in reducing the heart rate of the user.

That makes the device well-suited for applications that put a premium on reliability and where it would be difficult or expensive to replace worn-out batteries.

Askari estimated the sensors - about six centimeters long and one centimeter wide - could be commercially manufactured for $5 to $10 each.

Vertigo Treatment Via Comparison of 2 Home Exercises
Researcher ailing from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and had to ‘fix it’ before she could go to work one day employed a manoeuvre to treat herself resulting in more sickness.

Research is now focused on making them smaller and more sensitive using triboelectricity alone. The software is also being developed to process signals for the tire application.

When attached to the inside of tires, they could sense changing road conditions and instantly send information to control systems to enable self-driving vehicles to make adjustments.

"Based on the forces, the interaction between the road and the tires, we could actually detect ice or rain," said Askari. "That is extremely important information for autonomous driving."

Askari collaborated at Waterloo with fellow Ph.D. student Ehsan Asadi, and engineering professors Amir Khajepour and Mir Behrad Khamesee, as well as doctoral student Zia Saadatnia and professor Jean Zu at the University of Toronto.

Source-Eurekalert