Design

Needs Description

Peripheral nerve damage is a debilitating problem which can cause numbness, pain, and loss of function of the extremities. Peripheral nerve injuries affect approximately 5% of all trauma patients and up to 1% of the entire population of the United States by age 70 (Shah, Vaz, & Brown, 2014). The damage can be a result of traumatic injuries such as war-related blast injuries, genetic diseases, diabetes, and infections. The need for this nerve actuation device arose from the large number of people suffering from it and the lack of viable treatments available to them.

Problem Statement

While pain management is important for those suffering from nerve damage, restoring the functions of the extremities is most significant in a nerve repair solution. Since severed nerves deteriorate over time, becoming irreparable if left untreated, a solution for this issue needs to quickly and completely repair peripheral nerve damage.

Design Goals

• Be painless to patients
• Be affordable
• Be made of readily available and sustainable materials (i.e. not human tissue)
• Not require multiple surgeries
• Be scalable to humans
• Work quickly so as to minimize nerve death
• Effectively repair damaged nerves without causing further tissue damage
• Restore complete function to the extremities

Design Proposals

The following designs were conceptual ideas utilizing various actuation methods and created using SolidWorks CAD software.

Designs 1 and 2 involved the use of motors: one with a reel and another with a linear motor. Design 3 involved the use of magnetic actuation.

Sources:

• Vaz KM, Brown JM, Shah SB. Peripheral nerve lengthening as a regenerative strategy. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(16):1498-1501.