Maxine Zglinicki needed to complete a senior project. Dr. John H. Bailey wanted a surgical tool redesigned. The recent Pennsylvania College of Technology graduate and local orthopedic surgeon teamed up to meet both objectives.
Zglinicki, of Norristown, devoted a chunk of her final semester at the college to redesigning a tensioning device used with a robot for knee replacement surgery. The senior project was required for Zglinicki to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design.
“The happiest thing for me about the project is the potential it has to help Dr. Bailey,” Zglinicki said.
The stainless-steel device is placed behind the patient’s kneecap – between the femur and tibia – so the knee’s ligaments can be fully stretched. A robotic arm then obtains accurate measurements for knee replacement surgery.
“Multiple tools have been tried to hold the knee apart for the surgeon to make measurements to determine the alignment of our cuts,” Bailey said. “Right now, I would estimate that less than 5% of surgeons use this specific device. It’s been around for 10 years or so.”
Several months ago, Thomas E. Ask, professor of industrial design, asked Bailey –
a member of the college’s industrial design program advisory committee – if he had ideas for capstone projects.
“Dr. Bailey identified problems in the current design of the knee tensioning device,” Ask said.
Enter Zglinicki, who was searching for an appropriate project that would encapsulate the knowledge and experience gained during her four years of study.
“Dr. Ask was aware that I didn’t have any heart-set ideas for a capstone project, so he asked me if I wanted to work on this,” she recalled. “We set up a meeting, and after talking to Dr. Bailey, it seemed like the changes he was looking for were something I would be able to do for him, at least as a prototype.”
Bailey identified four goals: redesign the device’s top plate for easier insertion in the knee and a better fit with the femur (thigh bone); add holes to the bottom plate, allowing pins to be inserted into the plate and tibia (shinbone) for increased stability; adjust the mechanism that compresses and inserts the device into the knee to make it ergonomically friendly for the surgeon’s hand; and increase the strength of the tensioner.
Zglinicki began the prototyping phase by crafting rudimentary models of the device with Super Sculpey polymer clay before advancing to parametric modeling in Autodesk Inventor, a prominent computer-aided design software program. Throughout the semester, Zglinicki 3D-printed plastic test pieces to refine her work.
“The changes to accommodate the ideas, as well as the ergonomic and dimensional improvements to the tool, were the result of input from Dr. Ask and experimenting with the printed prototypes to see what worked well and what still needed improvement,” she said.
Those changes included extending the top plate and adding an arch along its back edge, removing material from the back ridge of the bottom plate, and rounding off and adding a slight curve to the handles of the insertion tool.
The final design met Bailey’s requirements.
“Maxine held up her end of the bargain,” he said. “When she said she was going to get back to me in a week or two, that’s when she got back to me. She followed through with everything.”
Bailey plans to share the redesign with an undisclosed company to produce a stainless-steel prototype and continue product development.
“The project is unique because Maxine had to translate a surgeon’s experience and insights into practical changes for a medical device,” Ask explained. “She had to deal closely with an expert user to extract both specific change requirements, as well as product needs that couldn’t be easily articulated. She had to read between the lines and observe the broader design problem.”
That feat impressed Bailey, who noted the endeavor mimicked a reality often faced by professional industrial designers.
“Everything they design isn’t going to be something they know a lot about,” he said. “They are going to have to research it and figure it out. That’s exactly what Maxine accomplished. She was able to understand relatively quickly something that she had zero experience in. She took the time to watch videos and understand what we were trying to accomplish in a field she had no prior knowledge of. You can tell she’s a hard worker.”
According to Ask, Zglinicki possesses “the perfect combination of intelligence, talent and work ethic.” She’s the first industrial design student to graduate from the major with a perfect 4.0 GPA. In addition to her degree, Zglinicki earned Innovation Engineering Blue and Black belts and the Industrial Design Faculty Award.
As for the project, Zglinicki earned an “A,” but the benefit of the experience extends beyond a grade.
“It helped solidify that this (industrial design) is definitely the type of thing I want to do as my career,” she said, “whether it be medical-related or not.”
Another objective met.
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