The Situation
In Germany, about 400 000 knee surgeries are performed. About 175 000 of the patients receive a prosthesis afterwards. MOTEX - Monitoring Textiles, a system developed by German and Belgian scientists, can improve their rehabilitation.
The Project
A knee bandage, developed in the project enables the precise measurement of the diffraction and extension angle of the knee in real-time. The data is processed accordingly by the electronic module and transmitted to a smartphone in real-time and simultaneously stored in high resolution.
One unique feature is that the measurement can be carried out artifact-free even with very fast knee movements, e.g. during races or cycling, which is not possible with conventional approaches using inertial sensors and could previously only be carried out in well-equipped motion analysis laboratories.
This is made possible by the innovative textile strain sensors developed in the project. In contrast to conventional electronic sensors, the textile ones can be stretched by more than 50 % and are read with high precision.
The Benefits
The main area of application within the project was the use of the intelligent knee support before and during the rehabilitation of patients after knee surgery, during which they received an artificial knee joint. Patients get direct feedback via smartphone and the videos with rehabilitation exercises that ensure the correct execution of rehabilitation exercises. Those motivate the patients to perform the exercises on a regular basis.
Furthermore, the cloud connection of the system gives doctors and trainers the best possible and prompt access to the patient's exercise data via a web portal. This enables them to monitor the progress of rehabilitation in a decentralized, cost-effective and simple manner and, if necessary, to adapt the exercise plan individually.
This can prevent injuries caused by incorrect or too many or too few exercises. Through this telemedical approach, the MOTEX project contributes strongly cost savings in the health care system, as the number of visits to the physiotherapist can be reduced and, in addition, it enables patients with a residence in rural areas to experience comparably good rehabilitation processes as patients living in urban areas.
For further information, please contact
Malte von Krshiwoblozki
Malte.krshiwoblozki@izm.fraunhofer.de
+49 30 464 03 649
Funding
Industrial Collective Research (Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) - No. 117 EN/1