Wearables to help recovery after shinbone (tibia) surgery
Leveraging Wearables to Transform Patient Recovery after Tibial Fracture Surgery
This project uses wearable sensors to track forces on your shinbone during daily life and rehab to help people recovering from tibial fracture surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Kentucky NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lexington, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11113899 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would wear small sensors while doing daily activities and prescribed rehab exercises so researchers can measure the forces on your shinbone throughout the first year after surgery. The team will combine at-home sensor data with clinic visits to map how different activities load the tibia over time. They will build a practical guide that ranks how much force common rehab exercises put on the bone. Finally, they will look to see whether higher tibial forces early in recovery relate to better function at 6 and 12 months.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who recently had tibial shaft (shinbone) fracture surgery and are within the first year of recovery are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People with fractures in other bones, who cannot walk or perform rehab exercises, or who cannot wear or use the sensors likely would not benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help clinicians personalize rehab plans by showing safe and effective tibial loading that improves return to activity and work.
How similar studies have performed: Related work using wearables and gait sensors has shown promise in orthopedic recovery, but using wearables to directly measure tibial bone forces and create a clinical force reference is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Lexington, United States
- University of Kentucky — Lexington, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Noehren, Brian — University of Kentucky
- Study coordinator: Noehren, Brian
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.