Portable Tool for Ankle Instability Detection (PT-AID)

Military service members are exposed to an array of 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 the 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. Charles River Analytics proposes to design and demonstrate the feasibility of a Portable Tool for Ankle Instability Detection (PT-AID). The PT-AID effort includes the design of a self-contained, compact, and lightweight combined arthrometer and dynamometer to assess ankle function objectively and quantitatively. PT-AID enables clinicians to quickly and easily fit the device to the ankle, finely manipulate the ankle to make assessments across multiple ligament groups, and accurately sense ankle laxity and strength. Additionally, an assessment support interface guides even minimally trained users in objectively and accurately assessing ankle function. PT-AID will thus support clinicians in effectively identifying, tracking, and rehabilitating individuals with ankle injuries and reduce ankle injury burden on military readiness.