Team 12

WeightBear: A Device to Aid Patients With Ankle Sprains

Team Members: Maryah Alalwan, Nazira Kwanda, Emmanuella Tagoe & Loren Yazzie

Team Mentors: Thurmon Lockhart, PhD - SBHSE
Daniel Peterson, PhD - College of Health Solutions, ASU
Geoff Comp, DO, FAWM - Creighton University School of Medicine
Eric Nguyen - Creighton University School of Medicine

YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom Link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/85246016488

Abstract

Mild to serious ankle injuries can seriously hamper an individual's ability to walk on their own, which becomes a challenge in areas where medical services are not readily available. With this, there is a need to develop a medical device that allows the user to temporarily support their ankle injury, allowing them to ambulate. The size of the global foot and ankle injury market will grow to USD 8.07 billion by 2024. Current devices on the market are bulky and expensive, and do not necessarily allow patients to walk without assistance. They are also not adjustable for a variety of ankle injury settings (i.e. hiking, sports, at home). Our aim is to develop a medical device that is cost effective and addresses the unmet needs of the current market. The novel concept of our device, WeightBear, is having the weight of the user be transferred into the upper leg above the knee. This will provide joint stability to the ankle while not hindering biomechanics or the gait cycle of users. Specifications of the design include the device being lightweight, collapsable, adjustable for any surface type, as well as providing joint stability which allows users to walk without assistance. The WeightBear product will fall under the Class 1 medical device specification due to the device not imposing any serious health complications. The target cost for a unit of this device is about $100, including materials, labor and overhead fees.