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During ACL reconstructive surgery, titanium or partially degradable interference screws are used to secure the graft within the femur and tibia. These screws or parts of these screws will remain in the patient’s knee for the rest of his or her life and can cause problems. Another problem with the current screw is that it does not promote tissue growth. Therefore, it is our client’s desire to develop an interference screw for ACL reconstruction that will promote and foster the growth of surrounding bone tissue while slowly degrading to completion, as well as limit any potential problems a patient may incur while these screws in his or her body.
From L to R: Dana (Communicator), Cole (BSAC), Katherine (BSAC), Aaron (BWIG), and Joe (Leader).
We have been making screws for the past couple of weeks, and we are successful in making both solid screws and screws with pockets. We started some mechanical testing this week and have been preparing for the final poster presentation.
| Week | Reporting Period Beginning | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | Developed timeline, reviewed past research and PDS |
| 2 | September 15 | Met with Advisor, got information on rapid prototyping and thermoplastics |
| 3 | September 22 | Did some brainstorming on screw shape and came up with final design, looked into molding |
| 4 | September 29 | Designed screw with minimal alginate contact, researching casting alternative |
| 5 | October 6 | Created three new designs for the screw, met with Prof. Plesha to quantify designs |
| 6 | October 13 | Researched more on PLGA, worked on calculations, worked on midsemesters presentation |
| 7 | October 20 | Midsemester Presentation |
| 8 | October 27 | Checked with UW Machine Shop about machining a mold, discussed molding with Kimberly-Clark |
| 9 | November 3 | Met with advisor, Finalized SolidWorks drawing, talked with UW Machine Shop about Rapid Prototyping |
| 10 | November 10 | Researching thermoplastic, sent designs to Machine Shop for Rapid Prototyping, went to hardware store and purchased mold parts |
| 11 | November 17 | Started working on poster, making screws using the oven and bunsen burner |
| 12 | November 24 | Made solid screws with the hot plate, working on device to make pockets in the screws |
| 13 | December 1 | Developed caps and plugs for the screws, started making screws with plugs, added gelatin to the screw |
| 14 | December 8 | Mechanical testing of the screw, finishing poster, continue to make screws (solid and w/ plug) |
| 15 | December 15 |
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Midsemester Presentation (Oct 14 2005, 2368 kb) |
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Final Poster Fall 2005 (Dec 5 2005, 164 kb) |
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Product Design Specifications (Dec 6 2005, 98 kb) |
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ACL Interference Screw Final Paper (Dec 7 2005, 1414 kb) |
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Project Timeline (Dec 8 2005, 12 kb) |
