1. PICU (Portable Inflammatory Control Unit) Ethan Massingill and Jacob Kantor Summer Project Presentation July 19, 2013 Ethan Massingill and Jacob Kantor Summer Project Presentation July 19, 2013

2. Background What it is: A biofeedback knee brace that is intended for use in the rehabilitation of post-injury/post-surgical patients to control the body’s inflammatory responses. BACKGROUND STATEMENTS Inflammation is the body’s natural response to initiate the healing process after an injury It consists of redness, swelling, tenderness, increased temperature, and loss of function of the injured area Currently after an injury or surgical procedure to a joint you wear a brace for increased support while the area is healing If you notice that the area becomes inflamed you take the brace off and ice it

3. Background RESEARCH PROBLEM Currently the patient detects the inflammation by noticing the swelling or their increased loss of function, by this point the healing has been slowed If the brace is removed to ice the area you lose your mobility and support that the brace provides SIGNIFICANCE OF PICU The PICU detects the inflammation much sooner by using pressure and temperature sensors in the brace and initiates a cryotherapy mechanism to reduce the swelling The sooner we can detect the inflammation, the sooner we can treat it, and sooner the patient will recover and return to normal joint function.

4. METHODOLOGIES GENERAL APPROACH OF YOUR WORK/DESIGN OF PROJECT Met with multiple doctors to find a need or improvement in current procedures, literature search to see current applications, drafted general design, checked to make sure that the design met the needs of the doctor, optimized and refined our idea. MATERIALS USED Knee brace (McDavid, Donjoy) force sensitive resistors to detect pressure changes thermistor – passive electrical element that changes resistance with a change in temperature Microcontroller (Arduino Uno) to process the sensor information and serve as the control system The sensors together will provide biological information to diagnose whether there is swelling in the sensing region. If swelling is present a control system will engage a cooling system that will cool down the knee brace to provide cryotherapy to the patient. TECHNIQUES USED Problem solving, simulation, and data analysis to refine design

5. PROGRESS REPORT WHAT HAVE YOU COMPLETED TO DATE? Have the general system design and are beginning system simulation, currently filing an invention disclosure form WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO DO? Work on the prototype of the brace. Calibrate the sensors, work on the control system, research different types of cooling mechanisms that we can use to make it more effective and portable. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO PRESENT AT THE END OF THE SUMMER? We plan to have a working prototype of the knee brace as well as a provisional patent. Also have designs for the PICU to fit other parts of the body (ankle/foot, elbow, and shoulder)

6. PROGRESS REPORT WHAT UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED? Had difficulty deciding which part of the body to focus on. Had meeting with doctors to point us in the right direction. Finding out an efficient cooling system. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ANOTHER UNDERGRADUATE EMBARKING ON A SUMMER RESEARCH PROJECT? Conduct literature search to understand the background of project, talk to experts in the field you're working on to see what’s needed, make connections, and take note of any help they can offer.