INTELLIGENT CONTROLLER SYSTEM FOR AN INTRAMEDULLARY NAIL

Abstract

Modern day technology breakthrough in limb lengthening and strengthening can enable an individual to gain up to 60mm in height in about two months for the upper and lower bones extremities of the legs.

This technology also helps those who have had an injury that caused shortened or deformed limb bones or those that were born with limb length inequality to overcome their shortcoming.

Compared to current day conventional bone extension surgery method, it is much simpler and safer to be use and perform. The nail which is a metal steel implant is inserted into the hollow of a bone that has been cut crosswise. It can be activated by a wireless control unit to increase in length at 1mm a day and will gradually lengthens as the bone’s cut ends grow and fuse.

The design for this involves an internal unit which is implanted beneath the skin and tissues and an external unit.

A reliable communication channel needs to be design for both these units to communicate so that it will be able to control linear drive movement for the nail and also sends information back from the nail to the user. At the heart of this design will be a microcontroller unit with software code using any of the microcontroller programming language written to suit the needs of this project.

At the same time, the internal unit will be making use of wireless power transmission (inductive coupling) to obtain its required power supply. However, for this project, wireless power transmission is only done as a literature study (secondary objective) and testing out will be done with normal power supply to the internal circuit.