Portable Tool for Ankle Instability Detection (PT-AID)

Military service members are exposed to challenging conditions and dangerous environments throughout their training and deployment that can result in musculoskeletal injuries. Ankle injuries, in particular, place a severe burden on force readiness given elevated risk to Soldier-Athletes, long durations of recovery, and elevated risks of reinjury. Identifying ankle injuries and tracking recovery is critical to mitigating long-term negative effects. Currently, coarse physical examinations are used to detect ankle instability, limiting the ability to properly detect, triage, and treat ankle sprains. In a Phase I SBIR, Charles River Analytics successfully developed a robust, capable, and feasible design for a Portable Tool for Ankle Instability Detection (PT-AID). In Phase II, we will refine, fabricate, and validate PT-AID. PT-AID comprises a self-contained, compact, and lightweight combined arthrometer, dynamometer, and goniometer to holistically quantify ankle function. Clinicians can rapidly fit PT-AID to the ankle, finely manipulate the ankle to make assessments across multiple ligament groups, and accurately sense ankle laxity, strength, and range of motion. An assessment support interface guides even minimally trained users in objective, accurate assessment of ankle function. PT-AID will support clinicians in effectively identifying, tracking, and rehabilitating individuals with ankle injuries to reduce ankle injury burden on military readiness.