Developing a reliable, noninvasive method of wrist instability measurement
Learn more about the efforts of BME401 Group 24 and hand/wrist surgeons in the development of a clinically viable wrist instability measurement device
About
Instability in the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) is a common postoperative complication from distal radius fractures, which are the most common upper extremity fractures1. Although intervention methods to treat DRUJ instability are well established, up to 50% of cases2 are overlooked due to the purely qualitative nature of gold-standard diagnostic methods.
BME401 Senior Design Group 24 members Saketh Balmoori, Kaitlyn Thornton, and Chris Wissmann, along with hand/wrist surgeons Dr. Charles Goldfarb and Dr. David Wright aim to mitigate the impacts of DRUJ instability by developing a clinically viable device capable of quantifying instability in the DRUJ.
1 Zhang, Li, et. al. Medicine, 2023
2 Stevens, Cadogan. LITFL, 2023
Need Statement
When orthopedic hand surgeons attempt to understand distal radioulnar joint instability, there is a need to efficiently and practically quantify joint stability to succinctly inform surgical decision-making for more favorable outcomes.
Project Scope
We intend to develop a reliable, non-invasive system capable of measuring DRUJ instability with sub-millimeter precision by February of 2025, and will have it packaged into a portable, comfortable, and easy-to-use prototype device by April 20, 2025.