Page 17 - ME-06-E

How Biomechanical Principles Help properties of the relevant tissues and run simulations
Design Medical Devices to design the best possible prosthetic. We effectively
create a digital replica of the patient so we can run
"To optimize a device, we tests on it and optimize the prosthesis.
create a digital replica
of a human body" The fact that we are doing this," she stresses, "is
a testimony to the tremendous advances machine

learning has brought to mechanical engineering.

Herself an alumna of the faculty, Asst. Prof Dana "Twenty years ago, we simply didn't have the com-

Solav heads the Biomechanical Interfaces Lab, which putational capacity for such projects," she explains.

she recently founded. Her bachelor's degree is in And of course, biomechanical interfaces require

geophysics, of all fields: "My background is in the ex- knowledge in bioscience: "We have to account for the

act sciences," she tells us. "I came to

the Technion to study biomedical engi-

neering. While looking for an advisor,

I met Prof. Alon Wolf and switched to Asst. Prof Dana Solav: "Today,
mechanical engineering. I realized that fitting someone with a prosthesis is
what I really wanted to study was clos- an art – the outcome of the fitting
er to mechanics." Her master's degree process depends on a professional's
and Ph.D. are in mechanical engineer- skill level. In my lab, I made it into
ing, specializing in biomechanics. an exact science. I used individual
measurements and a device fitting
Solav did her post-doc at MIT, at simulation to create a digital
a lab that developed bioengineering model that takes into account the
solutions for leg amputees: "the re- tissue's mechanical properties"
searchers at the lab make highly ad-

vanced robotic prostheses, but their

study also has direct medical applica-

tions: they invented a new amputation

technique – a development that came

after amputation procedures had re-

mained unchanged for decades." How

can engineering research have direct applications for biological and physical properties of the living tissue

surgeons? Solav explains that the prostheses devel- the device is fitted on."

oped at MIT work with the signals the brain sends to Upon returning to Israel, she opened the Biome-

the muscle tissue in the residual limb. A skillful am- chanical Interfaces Lab at the Technion. Her work at

putation maximizes these signals' ability to transfer the lab continues her previous research avenues and

to the prosthesis. extends to more than just prostheses. "We are also

"My contribution at the lab was mainly in study- working on orthotic insoles, scoliosis braces, and a

ing the prosthetic socket, the mechanical interface device meant to replace crutches. The latter is a kind

between the amputee's residual limb and the rest of temporary prosthesis worn on the leg on top of an

of the prosthesis. I studied the pressure distribution injured area. The device allows the wearer to control

and looked for ways to make the fitting process as how much weight is put on the foot and ankle."

scientific as possible. Today, fitting someone with a Although this is a research lab, Solav mentions

prosthesis is a very low-tech process: a cast is made, that this research is highly applicative. "We are al-

and the fit of the resulting prosthesis is highly de- ready seeing clinical studies on prostheses like the

pendent on the professional's skill level. In my lab, I ones I worked on at MIT, and the goal is to have them

used technology to make it into a much more exact, out in the market as soon as possible. Here in aca-

more scientific process. We take individual measure- demia, however, we have the privilege of being able

ments and use them to create a digital model of the to test models that aren't as interesting to the indus-

relevant body part. We use imaging technologies like try or don't seem as economically feasible."

MRI, CT, and ultrasound imaging and tailor the geom- Working at the lab alongside the mechanical en-

etry to each patient. Next, we input the mechanical gineering students are physiotherapists from Haifa

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering | MEgazine | 17