Multi-Modal Sensing Enabled Closed-Loop Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Musculoskeletal Injury and Disorders

The Etemadi Research Group will be responsible for 1) design, prototyping, and building of the wearable knee brace system and 2) clinical pilot study in Phase 2 on post-surgical patients. A summary by area is as follows: 1. Wearable design, prototyping, and building. A total of 90 manufactured devices will be produced for the phase 1 and 2 studies. Included in the budget is for 3 prototype runs to prepare for manufacturing runs of the devices. 2. Clinical pilot study. Two groups of patients will be recruited – those presenting for knee arthroscopic surgical repair of the medial meniscus, and those presenting for ACL tendon repair. Approximately 30 patients in each group will be recruited in the pre-op area by the anesthesiology service. Wearable measurements will be taken pre- and post-op as well as at home following their operation, during rehabilitation. For the meniscus patients, the approximate length of the study will be 2-3 weeks. For the ACL patients, approximately 6-8 weeks. Approximately half of each patient group (around 15 patients per group) will be instructed to use the transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulator.