The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation--Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is three-fold. First, in terms of societal impact, the project will develop biomedical implants that enables better surgical outcomes and quality of life for patients that undergo reconstructive orthopedic surgeries. Importantly, these implants are passive---that is, they do not use external power, signals, motors, or electronics. The proposed technology is different from existing solutions such as prostheses, orthoses, and exoskeletons as the implants enable the patient to make better use of their own muscle after a debilitating trauma. Second, the project may pave the way for a new market for orthopedic implants that, when mounted on tendons, enable re-engineering the force and movement transmission within the body. Third, this team will educate and train the next generation of engineering students to become leaders in commercializing novel biomedical implants and will conduct activities to increase the participation of women, under-represented minorities, and persons with disabilities.
The proposed project will advance the development of an implantable passive device for use in reconstructive orthopedic surgery. Specifically, there are many hand surgeries where multiple tendons are rigidly sutured to one muscle. Such surgeries only partially restore hand function. This project will develop an implant which, when surgically inserted between biological flexor tendons, will significantly improve hand grasping capability for patients even if all four fingers are driven by only one muscle. The project’s intellectual merit is two-fold. First, the work will develop the science for the design, fabrication, and validation of pores that encourage long-term attachment between the implant and the tendon. Second, the team will also design, fabricate, and validate a non-fouling coating that reduces scar tissue formation and increases the implant’s slickness. The project considers the needs to reduce scarring on the implant's exterior surface while enabling tendon cells to migrate into the implant's pores for long-term attachment. It is expected that the project may produce design and fabrication techniques to enhance tendon-implant attachment and reduce adverse biological response to implanted materials.
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.
