Development of a Textile Intgerated Sensor System

Feedback-Assisted Rehabilitation after Surgery of the Anterior Cruiate Ligament

Project Justification

Patients with surgically treated anterior cruciate ligament rupture often suffer from a phenomenon called “giving way” which is a perceived loss of stability in the knee for a long time after surgery. In this context, long-term effects of an insufficient rehabilitation occur frequently, for instance chronic secondary injuries and renewed ruptures of the operated cruciate ligament.

EFRE.Stars NRW 2022 Award

Our Approach

The EU-funded research project KneTex aims to reduce the recurrence and complication rate in this group of patients. For this purpose, textile-integrated sensors are incorporated in a smart knee bandage and used to detect harmful postures and movements. In a second step, a feedback mechanism will be implemented which is activated in case of a harmful movement. The goal is to enable patients to recognize and correct maladaptive movements during everyday activities as well as therapeutic exercises. To implement this approach, various technologies from the fields of textile technology, sensor technology, and embedded software are combined with corresponding analytical methods and actuators. Within the project, acceptance and usability of different feedback actuator approaches as well as the overall system are examined and evaluated.

Impressions of the smart knee bandage

Work Packages, Insights and Outcomes

Ixp is responsible for the assessment and specification of the usage context, users’ and stake holders’ needs, test and application scenarios, as well as ELSI-related and technical requirements. Further, potential feedback mechanisms are analyzed and tested to set up a firm basis for the project’s feedback actuator technology. With regard to the application, desired contents and features are conceptualized which includes a dashboard, success and effectiveness monitoring, and feedback output. Here, ixp contributes to a frontend architecture model, the Graphic-User-Interface, and interface definitions. Moreover, ixp takes lead in preparing, organizing, and conducting the evaluation of the functionality and usability of the project’s knee bandage and feedback system demonstrators with test subjects in iterative assessment rounds. The collected data is analyzed to accompany the user-centered optimization processes and to receive a final evaluation for a successful project conclusion which paves the way for a continuous usage of the KneTex system.

IXP particularly broadens its expertise in health- and ELSI-related requirement analyses, conceptualizations of Graphic-User-Interfaces to adequately present (motion) data as well as planning and conducting user and functionality evaluations of a medical product.