Three-axis force-sensing hip implant for soft tissue tension assessment during Total Hip Arthroplasty: Three-axis force measurement in a hip prosthesis

Assessing soft tissue tensions during Total Hip Arthroplasty is believed to help surgeons choose the optimal hip implant. Therefore, we hope to design a reusable three-axis force-sensing hip implant for intraoperative soft tissue tension assessment. To increase the chance of success within limited time, this graduation project focuses on designing a compact three-axis force sensor which could be implemented in a commercial hip implant. Different prototypes using strain gauges and The Stewart Platform sensor geometry were developed to validate the feasibility of the design. A series of experiments were also carried out and the result shows that the sensor has an accuracy of around 1N and a cross coupling lower than 3N when the load reaches 160N along three principal axes. A force visualization system was also developed to provide real-time feedback about forces in the hip implant.Mechanical Engineering | BioMechanical Desig