Naveen Chandrashekar is developing a method of simulating career-ending injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) located in the knee. The mechanical and mechatronics engineering professor has designed a simulator that is capable of accurately replicating high-speed knee movements, such as those resulting from intense athletic activity.
According to Chandrashekar, around 100,000 athletes in North America tear their ACL every year, resulting in more than $2 billion in treatment costs annually.
Currently, the mechanism of ACL injury is not well understood, which hampers strategies to prevent such injuries. By recreating conditions for ACL damage in the lab, Chandrashekar and his students can study the causes of those injuries. Plans are in the works to design and test neuromuscular protection strategies that can be implemented during training to prevent ACL injury in athletes. [DB article]