Dynamic shoulder orthosis for selective restriction of glenohumeral joint motion

I am a Biomedical Engineering graduate student and throughout my degree I chose to follow the biomechanical stream as I was fascinated by the mechanics of the human body from macro to microscales. This led me to undertake a Research Assistant position on 3D printed orthopaedic implants, during which I discovered that I am very interested in working towards designing new implants and new techniques of manufacturing them. I have a strong background in mechanics of bone formation and orthopaedic implants both from my work in RA but also from my MEng degree where I carried out research both on cellular level but also on bone failure. For my final year thesis, I focused on how mechanical stressors affect the
osteogenesis of hMSC. Through this project I gained insight on bone growth, and how mechanical factors can either boost or hinder it. In my year 3 group project, we developed a system to aid in the identification and analysis of upper limb abusive injuries in toddlers. To achieve this, we manufactured a toddler surrogate and tested it in different incident-like falls. Through this project I did research both on bone development, as we had to study toddlers' bone mechanical properties in order to create an accurate modelling tool, and at the same time common bone failure mechanisms during childhood. For this project I was responsible for sensor adaptation to measure forces acting on the surrogate, where I came up with an innovative solution using a gait analysis software with a force plate attached to it in order to measure accelerations and therefore forces using position markers. This was not only the most cost-effective solution as it was already installed in our lab, but it also gave very detailed outputs as we could use the accelerations of each different segment individually during the incident. During my Research Assistant position in was really exposed into the most recent development of 3D printed prosthetics for THA. I worked in the retrieval centre in RNOH where I had the chance to take a closer look into how the end components look both pre- and post- implantation. This gave me great insight into the standards of current market but also the defects and difficulties faced by both manufacturers and surgeons. Through my experience as an RA I was lucky enough not only to see custom made implants for patients but also to talk to patients who required customs made for them. The main concern, always, is that a custom implant requires at least 6 weeks of design and manufacturing, and from the surgeons perspective, this is a huge risk as once the final design is delivered to them, there is the possibility that the patients condition has changed and therefore the implant is no longer fit. All these difficulties currently faced by the industry, sparked my interest into working in the orthopaedic industry and helping in the design and manufacturing of new more
reliable implants. I am aware that I have only been exposed to a very small chapter of the rulebook of the needs for new designs however I am very excited to learn more, and try my best to help in creating implants that are going to improve the lives of many patients. Regarding my relevant work in a more industrial setting, I have worked as an intern in a 3D printing dental company in Greece. There, my main project was to design and manufacture a calibrating tool for the 3D printers. This required both designing skills using AutoCAD but also some background research on how the sintering process works, in order to scale the accuracy of the model to be a reliable tool.