{"538811":{"#nid":"538811","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hearing snap, crackle, pop may help heal your knee","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019ve injured your knee. A doctor straps a listening device to it, and the noises you hear coming out of it are cringe-worthy. \u201cCrackle! Krglkrglkrgl! Snap!\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYour knee isn\u2019t breaking; it\u2019s only bending, and in the future, those sounds could help doctors determine whether the convalescing joint is healthy yet, or if it needs more therapy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a knee band with microphones and vibration sensors to listen to and measure the sounds inside the joint.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt could lead to a future device to help orthopedic specialists assess damage after an injury and track the progress of recovery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFormer NCAA athlete\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOmer Inan has suffered knee pain himself and had been thinking about developing such a device for some time. The assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering is a former discus thrower who was a three-time NCAA All-American at Stanford University and the school record holder.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe spent years whirling around like a tornado, which knees aren\u2019t built for. Add to that the stress and strain of weight training that included squats with 500-pound loads.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI would always feel like my knee was creaking or popping more if I was putting more stress on it,\u201d Inan said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued a call for research proposals on wearable technologies for assisting rehabilitation, and the researcher at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering pitched his idea.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInan\u2019s group has published a paper on the latest state of development in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/xpl\/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=7435308\u0026amp;filter%3DAND%28p_IS_Number%3A4359967%29\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EIEEE Transactions in Biomedical Engineering online\u003C\/a\u003E, official print publication is pending. The research is being sponsored by the DARPA Biological Technologies Office. Inan leads a team of 17 researchers, including Georgia Tech faculty in ECE and Applied Physiology and graduate students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDelightfully gross\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen he heard the first recordings of crackly grinding in early experiments, Inan was delighted. \u201cIt was a lot louder than expected and a lot clearer,\u201d he said. That meant instant progress.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo others, it just sounds gross. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit like some kind of Halloween stuff happening. You\u2019re listening to your bones rubbing on each other, or maybe cartilage,\u201d Inan said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoctors call the joint cracking \u201ccrepitus,\u201d which rings oddly of \u201cdecrepit.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome 100 years ago, physicians thought that racket might contain a message and listened to it with large stethoscopes. Now, Inan hopes that in the future, medical research will build on the acoustical sensing technology his group is designing, and eventually decode the sound into useful patterns.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, the researchers are graphing out the recorded audio and matching it to the joint\u2019s range of motion to see where exactly in the leg\u2019s extending and bending the knee creates creaks and pops. The result has peaks and squiggles that resemble an electrocardiogram or other physiological signal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe acoustic pattern an injured knee produces is markedly different from that of an intact knee. \u201cIt\u2019s more erratic,\u201d Inan said. \u201cA healthy knee produces a more consistent pattern of noises.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBattlefield knee injuries\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf paired with medical research, Inan\u2019s acoustic device could lead to inexpensive, wearable monitors, which could benefit athletes who have overburdened their knees, and elderly patients who have slipped and fallen, but DARPA\u2019s interest is to cut down on repeat battlefield knee injuries and help get soldiers back to duty safely.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat most people don\u2019t know is that musculoskeletal injuries of the knees and ankles are among the top reasons for discharge for active duty service members,\u201d Inan said. Backpacks weighing up to 100 pounds press down on soldiers, as they march for dozens of miles over tricky terrain, climb over obstacles on battlefields, and crouch in cramped spots for hours.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven without a fall or contortion, a soldier can land in surgery then in rehab. The problem may seem fixed months later, but too often it\u2019s not, and too often that\u2019s because of re-injury.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike professional athletes, soldiers can be overly eager to leap back into the fray. \u201cThey were there in the first place because they wanted to help our country, so they want to get back to it,\u201d Inan said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOvercoming challenges\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter surgery and therapy, that knee may feel like new, but when a fervent soldier jumps back onto it, weaknesses from the injury kick in. As a result, re-injuries are 10 times more frequent than initial ones.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn inexpensive wearable device could give soldiers and clinicians in the future feedback on convalescing knees to help them avoid major re-injury by refraining from heavy workloads when needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat could benefit service members in the long run, too. Joint injuries compound over time, setting retired service members up for pain and loss of mobility long into civilian life. \u201cYou can have cases of early osteoarthritis,\u201d Inan said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut at this point, Inan\u2019s mission is to record the sounds in potentially useful quality. That has posed some challenges. The knee joint is surrounded by fluid, which blunts sound waves that are exiting the joint for the skin. Also, when a patient moves around, that causes extraneous noises that can drown out useful sounds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe fact that the measurement has to occur by definition during movement is a challenge, because you can\u2019t just tell the person to be still and avoid motion artifacts,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESmart phone-like mics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers combined microphones with piezoelectric film. The film is a hypersensitive vibration sensor and collects the best sound, but it is very sensitive to interference. The microphones placed against the skin make for an ample backup and for a more practical device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe knee monitor also takes advantage of a technical advancement you will find in your smart phone. Micro-electromechanical systems microphones, or MEMS, integrate better with current technology than microphones based on previous technologies, and that also makes the microphones downright cheap \u2013 50 cents to a dollar \u2013 for a very affordable device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe paper\u2019s authors also included Caitlin N. Teague, Sinan Hersek, Hakan T\u00f6reyin, Mindy L. Millard-Stafford, Michael L. Jones, Geza F. Kogler and Michael N. Sawka, all from Georgia Tech. It was funded under contract number W911NF-14-C-0058 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Acoustic engineering transcribes crackling knee sounds into moving graph"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New acoustic device research reveals even a healthy knee makes cringeworthy sounds. But the audio can be turned into graphs, and researchers hope they will some day become medically useful."}],"uid":"31759","created_gmt":"2016-05-23 11:05:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:42","author":"Ben Brumfield","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-05-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-05-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"539011":{"id":"539011","type":"image","title":"Listening devices detect vibrations in moving knee","body":null,"created":"1464703200","gmt_created":"2016-05-31 14:00:00","changed":"1475895326","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:26","alt":"Listening devices detect vibrations in moving knee","file":{"fid":"216416","name":"gt.knee_.acoustics.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustics.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustics.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1119153,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustics.jpg?itok=nbQcabSu"}},"538931":{"id":"538931","type":"image","title":"Prof. Omer Inan is developing knee listening device","body":null,"created":"1464703200","gmt_created":"2016-05-31 14:00:00","changed":"1475895326","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:26","alt":"Prof. Omer Inan is developing knee listening device","file":{"fid":"216414","name":"gt.prof_.omer_.inan_.face_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.prof_.omer_.inan_.face_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.prof_.omer_.inan_.face_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1549917,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt.prof_.omer_.inan_.face_.jpg?itok=EqgUmL0F"}},"539001":{"id":"539001","type":"image","title":"Knee sounds end up as moving graph","body":null,"created":"1464703200","gmt_created":"2016-05-31 14:00:00","changed":"1475895326","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:26","alt":"Knee sounds end up as moving graph","file":{"fid":"216415","name":"gt.knee_.acoustic.graphs.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustic.graphs.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustic.graphs.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1356970,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustic.graphs.jpg?itok=ZkQke_u2"}},"539021":{"id":"539021","type":"image","title":"Acoustic knee device converts sounds into moving graphs","body":null,"created":"1464703200","gmt_created":"2016-05-31 14:00:00","changed":"1475895326","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:26","alt":"Acoustic knee device converts sounds into moving graphs","file":{"fid":"216417","name":"gt.knee_.acoustics.bench_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustics.bench_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustics.bench_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1195593,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt.knee_.acoustics.bench_.jpg?itok=payB7zJM"}}},"media_ids":["539011","538931","539001","539021"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"116781","name":"BioMEMS"},{"id":"7316","name":"knee"},{"id":"170311","name":"knee injury"},{"id":"2557","name":"mems"},{"id":"170747","name":"microphone"},{"id":"525","name":"military"},{"id":"98151","name":"piezoelectric MEMS"},{"id":"167014","name":"Sports"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, GA 30032-0181\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Ben Brumfield,\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E, 404-660-1408; raw video and sound available upon request.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Ben Brumfield\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026nbsp;","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}