Injury simulator has a leg up on the competition

As athletes from around the world put their bodies to the test at the London 2012 Olympic Games, University of Waterloo researcher Naveen Chandrashekar is developing a method of simulating career-ending injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) located in the knee.

The simulator (at right) utilizes a cadaver knee in a system capable of accurately replicating high-speed knee movements, such as those resulting from intense athletic activity.

The simulator system has six computer-controlled electromechanical actuators that apply muscle forces on the knee and move it at high speed, using motion capture data derived from recordings of individuals performing high-risk activities. Specialized sensors then measure the strain and damage to the ACL that occurs during those activities.

Chandrashekar, assistant professor in the department of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, gave a tour of his laboratory to Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear yesterday. The simulator was developed with funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grants.

Pictured above next to the simulator are (L-R) students Gajendra Hangalur, Amanda Shorter, Professor Naveen Chandrashekar, Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear, student Ryan Bakker, and University of Waterloo president Feridun Hamdullahpur.

According to Chandrashekar, around 100,000 athletes in North America tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) every year, resulting in more than $2 billion in treatment costs annually.

Currently, the mechanism of ACL injury is not well understood, which hampers strategies to prevent such injuries. By recreating conditions for ACL damage in the lab, Chandrashekar and his students can study the causes of those injuries. Plans are in the works to design and test neuromuscular protection strategies that can be implemented during training to prevent ACL injury in athletes. Chandrashekar is also investigating whether wearing knee braces would prevent ACL injury.

Photographs by Simon Wilson, Canadian Press Images.

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Wednesday's notes

 

The Secretariat has announced the results of the recent election for the vacant staff seat on the university's Board of Governors. Andrea Charette received 280 votes, and Walter McCutchan has received 270 votes. Charette is declared the successful candidate.

Electronic voting (for non-union full-time staff members) took place between Thursday, July 12 and Thursday, July 19, with paper ballots, which had been mailed to full-time unionized staff members, accepted until Friday, August 3 at 3:00 p.m.

Human Resources has announced that Frank Ruszer, who started work at the university in June of 1980, retired as of July 1. Ruszer worked as a field co-ordinator in the department of Co-operative Education and Career Action.

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