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Project # 158
Ultrasonic Device to Measure Bone Cement Readiness During Polymerization​
| Team Lead: | Qing Hui Henry |
| Other Team Members: | Kim Bui | Chau Nguyen |
| Faculty Advisor(s): | Jun Liao, Hao Xu |
| Department: | BE |
| Project Type: | Senior Design |
| Title: | Ultrasonic Device to Measure Bone Cement Readiness During Polymerization​ |
| Abstract: | The timing of bone cement application is crucial in orthopedic surgeries. Bone cement can be used to anchor artificial implants to bone or fill space in the vertebrae. It is created shortly before application by mixing monomer liquid and cement powder component that each have special ingredients to initiate the process of polymerization. The liquid monomer mainly contains methyl methacrylate, and the cement powder contains partially polymerized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and other additives. Polymerization is characterized by four stages: mixing, waiting, application, and setting. When it is applied too early, it can cause high pressure cement leakage leading to Bone Cement Implantation Syndrome (BCIS), but adding it too late causes poor interdigitation leading to aseptic loosening. Our device aims to monitor bone cement polymerization using ultrasonic techniques for contactless and non-invasive methods to ensure sterility while evaluating the viscosity change. Ultrasonic waves penetrate the bone cement syringe and apply the time-of-flight and wave attenuation principles to measure how long it takes for the wave to travel and the loss of intensity or amplitude of that wave during the waiting and application stages. This approach aims to assist the surgical team to identify optimal window of application and improve surgical outcomes. |
| Poster: | View Poster #158 (PDF) |
| Judges Scoring: | Submit Evaluation (judges only) |