SBIR Phase II: An orthopedic device to assess joint mobility

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a tool to measure joint mobility. There are a large number of orthopedic injuries and a significant need to quantitatively assess and treat these injuries. An earlier attempt to address this market using a large, expensive, and cumbersome to use device developed in the 1980's is no longer on the market. Since that time, technology has significantly evolved, and the device under development will demonstrate that it can provide a better, smaller, cheaper solution with greater orthopedic utility. This device will be valuable to both educational and clinical venues. There are over 820 educational programs in medicine, chiropractic, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and athletic training. A device to provide feedback will support joint mobility professionals; the clinical market totals over 1.1 M professionals with projected growth of 14-34% over the next decade. These clinicians need tools to quantify techniques to enhance the practice of orthopedics. This device will help to transform the ability to collect data on joint measurement procedures to provide literature on examination and treatment efficacy and begin to develop "best practice" protocols. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop an orthopedic device to precisely quantify joint mobility. The proposed device is able to quantify joint laxity to contribute to the clinical decision-making regarding injury management to consistently render therapeutic treatments, improving quality of care. The proposed technology is a design for a simple, portable, and economical device used between the hands of the clinician and the joint of the patient to measure the linear displacement of the joint's bones. Aligning the device's axis with the indicated joint results in translation of the device's distal component on the stabilized proximal segment. A display of the linear translation appears immediately. The device represents a "first-to-market" technology for arthrokinematic/linear assessment. 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.