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Orthopedic screw torque measurement

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Project Overview

Bone exhibits viscoelastic behavior. Unlike smaller animals or human patients, long bone fracture constructs in horses experience substantial loading during recovery from general anesthesia immediately after fracture repair. After surgery, horses will typically apply substantial static loads to the construct, as they cannot stand or walk on three limbs. Therefore, the fracture-implant construct needs to be as strong as possible mechanically to allow the fracture to heal successfully without implant breakage or loosening. During orthopedic surgery, bone screws are typically tightened to a subjective torque value by the surgeon during placement. Despite reported ranges of optimal torque in the literature, there is no definitive standardized optimal tightening torque values that reflect potential torque relaxation of bone screws after insertion in bone in equine patients undergoing fracture repair.

Our goal is to design and engineer a digital torque screwdriver for use in clinical patients during implant placement for fracture repair or method to measure torque during screw implantation.

Team Picture

Team members from left to right: Madalyn, Heather, Rachel, Connor
Team members from left to right: Madalyn, Heather, Rachel, Connor

Contact Information

Team Members

  • Madalyn Pechmann - Team Leader
  • Connor Ford - Communicator
  • Heather Shumaker - BSAC & BWIG
  • Rachel Reiter - BPAG

Advisor and Client

  • Prof. Chris Brace - Advisor
  • Prof. Sabrina Brounts - Client
  • Peter Muir - Alternate Contact
  • Dr. Jennifer Whyard - Alternate Contact

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