A Novel Capacitive Measurement Device for Longitudinal Monitoring of Bone Fracture Healing

Sensors

Luca Fabbri¹  Michelangelo Scaglione¹  Gastone Ciuti²  Paolo Dario²  Marcello Chiurazzi²  Angela Sorriento² 

[1] Orthopaedic and Traumatology Department, Pisa University Hospital, 56126 Pisa, Italy;The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, 56025 Pisa, Italy;

关键词: longitudinal monitoring;    biomechanics;    bone fracture healing;    external fixators;    measurement device;    capacitive-based sensor;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s21196694

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The healing process of surgically-stabilised long bone fractures depends on two main factors: (a) the assessment of implant stability, and (b) the knowledge of bone callus stiffness. Currently, X-rays are the main diagnostic tool used for the assessment of bone fractures. However, they are considered unsafe, and the interpretation of the clinical results is highly subjective, depending on the clinician’s experience. Hence, there is the need for objective, non-invasive and repeatable methods to allow a longitudinal assessment of implant stability and bone callus stiffness. In this work, we propose a compact and scalable system, based on capacitive sensor technology, able to measure, quantitatively, the relative pins displacements in bone fractures treated with external fixators. The measurement device proved to be easily integrable with the external fixator pins. Smart arrangements of the sensor units were exploited to discriminate relative movements of the external pins in the 3D space with a resolution of 0.5 mm and 0.5°. The proposed capacitive technology was able to detect all of the expected movements of the external pins in the 3D space, providing information on implant stability and bone callus stiffness.

【 授权许可】

Unknown