Knee Robot
Engineering Capstone Project
Project Introduction
A knee replacement surgery is a procedure conducted to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint. It is most commonly done to relieve pain and disability which may occur as a result of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
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This project aims to design and produce a prototype of a clamp to secure the femur bone to test the strength of the knee joint during knee replacement surgery. The project will also investigate possible methods of measuring the force exerted on the clamp through the use of force measuring sensors. Such an instrument does not currently exist and would greatly assist surgeons with being able to quantify the force that the knee joint should be able to withstand after a knee replacement procedure. This device would also improve the ability of surgeons to replicate the procedure more accurately and safely by providing quantitative data in real time.
Project plan
Stage 1: Background and research
Finish reading materials about mechanical properties of the femur, sensor designs, telemetry configuration, bone clamp designs, FEA modelling, titanium 3D-printing
Stage 3: Sensor Investigation
Design force and torque sensor with suitable size. Access the data from sensor remotely. Handle the conflict between electronic components and disinfection.
Stage 2: 3D design and mechanical analysis
Apply FEA to find tolerance region of the bone. Use CAD software to design a clamp which can secure onto the femur without exceeding the force limit and resulting in bone crush.
Stage 4: Prototyping and implementation
Fabricate the clamp with 3D-printing. Assemble the clamp with sensors and give it a test.
Project constraints
Technical:
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Size
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Material Choose
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Mechanical Performance
Testing purpose :
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Finite Element Analysis
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Mechanical Test
Security & Safety:
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Working with no damage and no slippage