Compliant Joint Reconstruction

Compliant Ankle Endoprosthesis

Severe, combined pathology of the ankle and hindfoot causes devastating pain and dysfunction that drive thousands of people each year to amputate their legs in search of relief. Currently, the only alternative treatment to amputation is an operation known as ankle-hindfoot fusion, in which nails and screws are used to eliminate motion in the ankle and subtalar joints; unfortunately, these extensive fusions are so severely limiting to ambulatory function that many patients would rather sacrifice their limb entirely, so that they can use a prosthetic device in place of their amputated leg. The objective of this project is to develop a novel orthopaedic implant that eliminates joint pain with the same efficacy as ankle-hindfoot fusion, and restores function to the same degree as a synthetic external prosthesis, without requiring amputation.

The novel implant is built from compliant mechanisms, which move by bending and flexing rather than rolling, rubbing, or sliding. These mechanisms are frictionless and inherently stable, which allows them to avoid the key failure modes of conventional orthopaedic implants.

• Project Lead: Brandon T. Peterson
• Surgical Collaborator: Dr. Nelson F. SooHoo (Orthopaedic Surgery, UCLA)
• Project Team: He Kai Lim, Alyssa Tomkinson, Dean Chen, Thomas J. Hardin, Prof. Jonathan B. Hopkins