I served as the Primary Investigator (PI) for the study we conducted to verify our design. Through the design and completion of controlled human subject tests, we were able to show that our device did indeed reduce the slippage (orange) of a knee brace while walking, especially up and down stairs.
VERIFICATION TESTING
DEEP DIVE
Once our team identified the user need we wanted to tackle, we had to start thinking of ways to solve the problem. We used pretotyping materials (i.e. paper, tape, trash) and ended up with the design (right). The idea is that a cable runs through the straps around the leg, maintaining resistance to slippage even if the straps wear out or the user sweats.
LOW FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
The next stage of design was to create a device that actually worked to some degree. We used gauze, string, and laser-cut acrylic to fabricate our next design.
FINAL DEVICE
The final device used velcro strips, industrial strength fabric, 3D-printed PLA, and sturdy cable to recreate our design in an operable form. The mechanism we used to create tension is referred to as a CAM style cable; Tension increases when the leg is straight (brace most likely to slip), releases when the knee is bent.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Brace Buddy is a knee brace migration prevention device. In other words, it helps to keep a user's knee brace at the proper spot on the knee during walking and other physical activity.
Our team took home the first place prize for senior projects in Bioengineering.
April 2017
September 2016 - April 2017
BRACE BUDDY - SENIOR PROJECT
This project highlighted to me the importance and difficulties of proper record-keeping and documentation. As this was my first project with real user research, I was exposed to the divergence between user needs and technological solutions. I also learned to anticipate and manage product risks, as biomedical devices require the highest level of safety.