Date of Award

6-14-2017

Document Type

Thesis - SCU Access Only

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2017.

Department

Bioengineering

First Advisor

Prashanth Asuri

Abstract

There are over 300,000 total hip arthroplasties conducted in the United States every year. Roughly four percent of total hip arthroplasty patients dislocate their hip within a year following the surgery. The primary cause of postsurgical hip dislocations is the misalignment of the prosthetic acetabular component, which can severely diminish the range of motion of the prosthetic hip joint. Dr. Steven T. Woolson prototyped a device to enable surgeons to better align the prosthetic acetabular component, thereby reducing the rate of postsurgical hip dislocations, which he named the Pel-vise. The overarching goal of the senior design project was to improve upon the Pel-vise design and produce a functional prototype.

By conducting an extensive literature review and interviewing nurses, surgeons, and patients, the team improved upon the Pel-vise using the iterative design cycle. The final deliverable to Dr. Woolson was a SolidWorks model of the redesigned Pel-vise. This model enabled Dr. Woolson to file a provisional patent, begin to identify a manufacturing partner, and take steps towards clinical trials with the end goal of producing a commercially viable Pel-vise.

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