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Figure 1
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Figure 2
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Biomedical Engineering
Team 20

Team Members

Faculty Advisor

Alexander Dowd
Heather Lewis
Nicholas Olson

Krystyna Gielo-Perczak

Sponsor

Johnson and Johnson: DePuy Synthes

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High ankle sprains are a common injury, specifically amongst collegiate athletes participating in contact sports. This includes the partial or complete tearing of ligaments that makeup the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis, resulting in instability. In some cases, the fibula may fracture at the lateral malleolus or in the diaphysis of the fibula, which is the focus of this project. The current market uses screws and plates to attempt to fixate the tibia, fibula, and talus. Our design focuses on the development of a single use, disposable, sterile surgical kit that allows for non-rigid fixation and stabilization of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis following a high ankle sprain. The kit will allow for an increased ease of use for the physician, an increased average revenue per case, and will allow for rapid adequate surgical training. The biomechanics of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis will be investigated, as well as the current products to market, to develop a novel design for Depuy Synthes, part of the Johnson and Johnson medical devices company. Approved through the IRB, human subjects, both healthy and injured, will be analyzed while using the force platform from a sitting to standing position. We will also test our designs in the Depuy Synthes cadaver lab.